Edited 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. […]
Read MoreAuthors: Jeroen C. P. Simons, M.D. et al Anesthesiology 9 2016, Vol.125, 525-534. Background: Volatile anesthetics and propofol impair upper airway stability and possibly respiratory upper airway dilator muscle activity. The magnitudes of these effects have not been compared at equivalent anesthetic doses. We hypothesized that upper airway closing pressure is less negative and genioglossus activity […]
Read MoreAuthors: Hagen Bomberg, M.D. et al Anesthesiology 9 2016, Vol.125, 505-515. Background: Catheter-related infection is a serious complication of continuous regional anesthesia. The authors tested the hypothesis that single-dose antibiotic prophylaxis is associated with a lower incidence of catheter-related infections. Methods: Our analysis was based on cases in the 25-center German Network for Regional Anesthesia database […]
Read MoreAs part of the federal government’s efforts to address the opioid epidemic, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a drug safety communication that the Agency is adding Boxed Warnings to the drug labeling of prescription opioid pain and prescription opioid cough medicines, and benzodiazepines. For health care professionals, the drug safety communication states: “Health care […]
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