Author: Anthony Vecchione Cardiovascular Business A rise in deaths attributed to the opioid epidemic has resulted in more hearts being available for potential organ donation, according to a new analysis published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. Also, according to a related study, hearts from donors who had history of drug are perfectly safe. For the […]

Author: Tony Mira F1rast news Summary There are times when a medical practitioner may want to give a discount to a patient for altruistic or other reasons.  However, it is important that anesthesia providers be aware of the acceptable parameters and potential pitfalls of offering discounts for their services. Everyone likes getting a deal.  Our […]

Authors: Stephanie I. Byerly, MD et al  ASA Monitor July 2021, Vol. 85, 28–29. The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound and far-reaching impacts on health care workers in the United States. This burden has, in many ways, been disproportionately shouldered by women, who make up approximately 75% of the health care labor force in this […]

Authors: Kamal Maheshwari, M.D., M.P.H. et al Anesthesiology August 2021, Vol. 135, 273–283. Background Excessive or inadequate fluid administration causes complications, but despite this, fluid administration during noncardiac surgery is highly variable. Goal-directed management helps optimize the amount and timing of fluid administration; however, implementation is difficult because algorithms are complex. The authors therefore tested […]

Authors: Timothy J. Demchak, PhD, ATC, LAT, McCall Christian, DAT, ATC and Breanna Fagg, RN Candidate Practical Pain Management  Vol 21 Issue 3 Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FS) is a chronic pain syndrome, affecting approximately 5 million Americans (2 to 5% of adults and up to 6% of school-age children).1 In the pediatric population, the typical diagnosis of Juvenile Primary Fibromyalgia […]

Author: Tony Mira F1rst News Summary It’s not getting any easier for anesthesiologists and anesthetists who provide services in pain clinics.  Medicare recently released a new policy that will make it more difficult to get paid in facet intervention cases. From the crease of the valley below, you can see the degree of the slope […]

DG News Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen provide better pain control and have fewer adverse effects than codeine when prescribed after outpatient surgery, according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. “In all surgery types, subgroups, and outcome time-points, NSAIDs were equal or superior to codeine for postoperative pain,” wrote Matthew […]

Authors: Timothy J. Demchak, PhD, ATC, LAT, Christopher Carraway, DC, DIBCN, CLS and Dakota Miles, DPT Candidate Practical Pain Managemt Vol 21 Issue 3 The majority of first-line and second-line pain medications aim to either decrease the formation of PGE2 or decrease the transmission for pain in the posterior horn via pre-synaptic or post-synaptic inhibition. However, there is […]

Authors: Alexandre Joosten, M.D., Ph.D. et al  Anesthesiology August 2021, Vol. 135, 258–272. Background Individualized hemodynamic management during surgery relies on accurate titration of vasopressors and fluids. In this context, computer systems have been developed to assist anesthesia providers in delivering these interventions. This study tested the hypothesis that computer-assisted individualized hemodynamic management could reduce […]

ASA Monitor May 2021, Vol. 85, 37. Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of anesthesiologists more than the difficult airway… except for maybe… the pediatric difficult airway. This Patient Safety Tip of the Month provides updated suggestions for the safe approach to both normal and difficult pediatric airways based on recent findings from the literature. First, we […]