Edited by André Sofair, MD, MPH, and William E. Chavey, MD, MS Migraine in children is associated with increased risk for functional gastrointestinal disorders, according to a case-control study in the Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. Researchers studied 425 children aged 6–17 years who were diagnosed with migraine or tension-type headache in the emergency department, and 650 children who […]
Read MoreHirsch JA and Chandra RV., Lancet 2016 Aug 17; The procedure benefitted some highly selected patients when performed a few weeks after vertebral fracture. Vertebroplasty is injection of polymethylmethacrylate “cement” into a fractured vertebral body to reduce pain and disability. The popularity of this procedure declined after 2009, when two randomized, sham-controlled trials showed no benefit (NEJM […]
Read MoreAuthors: Lia Mesbah-Oskui, M.Sc. et al Anesthesiology published on August 25, 2016. Background: Alterations in thalamic γ-aminobutyric acid–mediated signaling are thought to underlie the increased frontal α-β frequency electrocortical activity that signals anesthetic-induced loss of consciousness with γ-aminobutyric acid receptor type A (GABAAR)–targeting general anesthetics. The general anesthetic etomidate elicits phasic extrasynaptic GABAAR activation (“spillover” inhibition) […]
Read MoreEdited by André Sofair, MD, MPH, and William E. Chavey, MD, MS The number of drug products obtained by law enforcement that tested positive for fentanyl (so-called fentanyl submissions) increased five-fold and deaths from synthetic opioids nearly doubled from 2013 to 2014, according to an MMWR study. Annual fentanyl submissions increased from 1000 to 5300 during this period. At […]
Read MoreAuthors: Gaspard Montandon, Ph.D. et al Anesthesiology published on August 25, 2016 Background: Opioid analgesia is an essential component of perioperative care, but effective analgesia can be limited by excessive sedation and respiratory depression. The cortical signatures associated with sedation by opioids and the relationship between changes in cortical activity and respiratory function are not well understood. […]
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