Patients with confirmed episodes of awareness during anaesthesia and surgery do not seem to be at increased risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other problems with psychosocial well-being at long-term follow-up, reports a study in Anesthesia & Analgesia. “We found no indication that intraoperative awareness with recall had any long-term effects on patients’ psychosocial […]
Read MoreGabapentin improves pain relief following caesarean delivery, according to a study presented here at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society (CAS). “We think that gabapentin can become, if not a routine addition to the analgesia we offer these women, then certainly a valuable alternative should elements of the standard package be contraindicated […]
Read MoreAmong more than 56,000 adults undergoing hip repair between 2004 and 2011, the use of regional anaesthesia compared with general anaesthesia was not associated with a lower risk of death at 30 days, but was associated with a modestly shorter length of hospital stay, according to a study published in the June 25 issue of […]
Read MoreIn states with fee schedules, ASCs are often more competitive than hospitals on price, though not always. Ambulatory surgery centers have new evidence to back up arguments for its relative cost-effectiveness. A new study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute comparing surgery payments for ambulatory centers and hospital outpatient centers has found that ambulatory centers […]
Read MoreThe more musculoskeletal pain sites an older person has, the lower their health-related quality of life (HRQoL), according to researchers. The findings were published June 12 in Rheumatology. Rosie Lacey, PhD, from the Research Institute for Primary Care and Health Sciences at Keele University in the United Kingdom, and colleagues said that although the relationship […]
Read MoreI thought this was interesting so I wanted to share it with our readers. According to the Commonwealth Fund, the U.S. spends the most on healthcare, but ranks last in quality While the United States pays the most for healthcare among all other developed nations, it also ranks last when it comes to the quality […]
Read MoreThe quickest way to improve your professional image and set a better example for your employees is to improve your communication skills. And the simplest way to improve your communication skills is to stop doing things that repeatedly get you in trouble. Bad communication habits are the punishment that keeps on giving even if you […]
Read MoreEdited by Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD For patients with shoulder impingement syndrome, physical therapy and corticosteroid injections offer similar relief, but injections lead to more healthcare utilization, according to an Annals of Internal Medicine study. Some 100 adults with unilateral shoulder impingement syndrome at one military medical center were randomized to receive either subacromial injection […]
Read MorePublished in J Clin Anesth. 2014 Jun;26(4):309-14. Authors: Yao Y et al STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of dexmedetomidine premedication on the minimum alveolar concentration of sevoflurane for tracheal intubation (MACTI) in children. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, clinical comparison study. SETTING: Operating room of an academic hospital. PATIENTS: 90 pediatric, ASA physical status 1 patients, […]
Read MorePublished in Digestion. 2014 Jun 4;89(4):247-252 Authors: Muller M et al Background/Aims: Insertion of a nasopharyngeal airway (NPA) during endoscopic sedation is only recommended in the event of respiratory problems. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of routine insertion of an NPA during sedation in gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy. Methods: Between July 2009 and April 2012, […]
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