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Uncategorized Published - 25 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Is Oral Contrast Necessary with Computed Tomographic Scanning for Suspected Appendicitis?

Authors: Drake FT et al. Ann Surg 2014 Aug. In an observational study, oral contrast did not improve accuracy in patients who received intravenous contrast. In three single-center, randomized trials, oral contrast — given in addition to intravenous (IV) contrast — did not improve the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomographic (CT) scanning for suspected appendicitis. […]

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Uncategorized Published - 25 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Physician-Led Prehospital Airway Management in Trauma

Authors:  Lockey D et al., Br J Anaesth 2014 Aug 15; 113:220 Intubation was successful in 99% of patients, and all surgical airways were successful in this large retrospective series. To assess airway management of trauma patients in a physician-led prehospital system in England, researchers conducted a retrospective database review of 7256 prehospital trauma intubations […]

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Uncategorized Published - 25 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
A primer on the anesthesia care team model

Author: KRAIG S. DE LANZAC, MD A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Daily, and often several times a day, I am asked by patients about my role as a physician anesthesiologist.  Occasionally the answer involves reiterating to patients that an anesthesiologist is a physician.  Once we get into the discussion, patients are […]

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Uncategorized Published - 25 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Postpartum Depression: Epidural During Birth May Reduce Risk

New research linking epidural anaesthesia during childbirth to reduced risk for postpartum depression suggests that pain control during labor and delivery may lower women’s risk of developing the serious mood disorder. To examine the relationship between pain during labor and postpartum depression, Ting Ding, MD, from the Department of Anesthesiology and the Department of Surgical […]

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Uncategorized Published - 25 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
For Anesthesiologists, Bigger Group Practices Don’t (Necessarily) Mean Higher Pay

The economics of market consolidation usually are clear: The fewer entities dominating a given market, the more power those players have in determining pricing and payment for their goods and services. But when it comes to the health care industry and anesthesiologists in particular, the effects of market consolidation are far less straightforward. Recent research […]

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Uncategorized Published - 25 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Ketamine Viable Choice for Adult Intubation in ED

Ketamine does not increase intracranial pressure, increase risk for death, or extend intensive care unit length of stay compared with drugs commonly used to intubate adult patients in the emergency department (ED), new data indicate. In a systematic review, Lindsay Cohen, MD, from the Royal College Emergency Medicine Residency Training Program, University of British Columbia, […]

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Uncategorized Published - 22 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Not Fit for a Haircut … How Should We Assess Fitness and Stratify Risk for Surgery?

Owing to increases in life expectancy, the patients presenting for surgery are older, and have more co-morbidities. Worldwide, 3–4% of patients die within 2 months of major surgery, with increased mortality and morbidity in high-risk surgical candidates, including the elderly and medically unwell. In Australia and New Zealand, older patients having non-cardiac surgery have a […]

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Uncategorized Published - 22 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Paravertebral Blocks in Patients Undergoing Mastectomy with or without Immediate Reconstruction Provides Improved Pain Control and Decreased Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting

Published in Ann Surg Oncol. 2014 Jul 18 Authors: Fahy AS et al BACKGROUND: Mastectomy is associated with postoperative nausea and pain. We evaluated whether paravertebral block (PVB) use altered opioid use, antiemetic use, and length of stay in patients undergoing mastectomy. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of all patients who underwent mastectomy […]

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Uncategorized Published - 22 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
Paracetamol No Better Than Placebo for Lower Back Pain

Paracetamol is no better than placebo at speeding recovery from acute episodes of lower back pain or improving pain levels, function, sleep, or quality of life, according to a study published in The Lancet. Low-back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. National clinical guidelines universally recommend paracetamol as the first choice analgesic for […]

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Uncategorized Published - 22 August, 2014    By - Dr. Clemens
New Anaesthesia Technique Helps Show Cause of Obstruction in Sleep Apnoea

A simplified anaesthesia procedure may enable more widespread use of preoperative testing to demonstrate the cause of airway obstruction in patients with severe sleep apnoea, according to a study published in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia. Researchers have developed a new “ramp control” anaesthetic technique for putting patients to sleep briefly-just enough to show the […]

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