A new study has found that postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) lasting two days or more is associated with worse long-term survival after cardiac surgery. Even after close matching on operative variables and comorbidity burden, patients with prolonged atrial fibrillation had significantly worse survival compared with patients who experienced POAF less than two days. According to […]
Read MoreA quick bedside assessment may one day help determine the long-term prognosis for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. According to the results of an observational study, poor functional status before CABG was associated with significantly increased risk for long-term mortality. “We demonstrated that poor baseline functional status in CABG patients is associated […]
Read MoreEducation, along with bedside ventilator cards, significantly increased use of correct initial tidal volume settings for mechanically ventilated patients. The goal of the study was to correctly set the ventilator for patients based on their ideal body weight (IBW), rather than using consistent settings for all patients, said Rotem Friede, MD, medical director of the […]
Read MoreAnesthesiologists who use perioperative clonidine in the hope of reducing acute postoperative pain or opioid consumption need to reconsider their efforts. According to a randomized controlled trial at the Cleveland Clinic, in Ohio—the largest such trial ever—researchers found that the drug has neither of these perceived benefits, and its use may come at the expense […]
Read MoreAuthors: Anke J. M. Oerlemans et al BMC Anesthesiol. 2016;16(25) Background: Internationally, there is no consensus on how to best deal with admission requests in cases of full ICU bed occupancy. Knowledge about the degree of dissension and insight into the reasons for this dissension is lacking. Information about the opinion of ICU physicians can […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: July 5, 2016 AUTHORS: Sigakis, Matthew J. G. MD et al BACKGROUND: Discharge diagnoses are used to track national trends and patterns of maternal morbidity. There are few data regarding the validity of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes used for this purpose. The goal of our study was to try […]
Read MoreEffective pain management will set your joint replacement program apart. BY David Harwood, MD; and Dean Giacobbe, MD; and Stephen Kayiaros, MD Doctor and nurse getting everything set for patient BASIC BLOCK A peripheral nerve block is the starting point for perioperative analgesia. Joint replacement surgery’s reputation for post-op pain can overshadow the procedure’s successful […]
Read MoreThe Multi-Society Pain Workgroup (MPW), representing more than 100,000 physicians and 15 medical societies, has commended the Washington State Health Care Authority’s Health Technology Clinical Committee (HTCC) for preserving access to spinal injection therapies for back pain. The HTCC held a hearing in March to determine coverage of spinal injections for Medicaid enrollees, workers covered […]
Read MoreQuality Queries and Quandaries: By: Emil Engels, MD, MBA, CPC At the invitation of Anesthesiology News, this is a recurring column in which experts attempt to answer many of the questions regarding quality reporting. This column will address topics such as: What is a qualified clinical data registry (QCDR)? How do the reporting requirements of […]
Read MoreThere are “negligible” long-term cognitive effects after major surgery during adulthood, new research has concluded (Anesthesiology 2016;124:312-321). This finding should help bolster physicians when confronted with older patients balking at surgery out of fear that undergoing anesthesia will cause cognitive and memory issues—preoperative medical conditions and mental functioning likely play a more significant role. “This study […]
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