Published in Arthroscopy. 2014 May;30(5):607-12 Authors: Ravnihar K et al. PURPOSE: To evaluate the hypothetical toxic effect of local anesthetics on the articular cartilage using patient data from autologous chondrocyte cultivation with different anesthesia types used for arthroscopic cartilage biopsy specimen procurement. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of patient data from the national autologous chondrocyte implantation […]
Read MorePublished in J Emerg Med. 2014 Jul;47(1):119-24 Authors: Tanen DA et al BACKGROUND: Acute radicular back pain is a frequent complaint of patients presenting to the Emergency Department. STUDY OBJECTIVE: Determine the efficacy of intravenous lidocaine when compared to ketorolac for the treatment of acute radicular low back pain. METHODS: Randomized double-blind study of 41 […]
Read MoreA new extended-release formulation of hydrocodone that has antiabuse properties has been shown to provide safe and long-lasting pain relief in a variety of patients with chronic pain, including those who have used opioids before and those who are opioid-naive. It may also be much less appealing to would-be hydrocodone abusers, according to new research. […]
Read MoreA SPECT/CT scan can help interventionalists determine the best course of treatment for lower back pain, according to a study presented last week at the annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. The researchers found that three times more patients achieved 70 percent to 100 percent pain relief after being managed […]
Read MoreAbout 2.2 million people, or more than one in every four Americans who signed up for private health coverage under President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law, have inconsistent data in their applications that could lead to them losing coverage in isolated cases, officials said. Republicans, who have made the law known as Obamacare a top […]
Read MoreI thought our readers should know this information since we often give antibiotics either preop or intraop. Authors: Schweizer ML et al., JAMA 2014 May 21; The mean attributable cost of surgical site infections in the Veterans Affairs system in 2010 was $11,876. With today’s emphasis on improving healthcare quality while decreasing cost, understanding the […]
Read MoreThis is important for our readers because so many of our followers work in the ICU beside just surgery. Authors: Binney ZO et al., Crit Care Med 2014 May 42:1074 Investigators describe a process by which ICU patients were transferred successfully to inpatient hospice care. In the U.S., 10% to 20% of patients admitted to […]
Read MoreAuthors: Kim JB et al., J Am Coll Cardiol 2014 Jun 3; 63:2280 Overall mortality risk was 50% higher in patients who underwent off-pump versus on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. Compared with on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), off-pump surgery offers potential advantages of reduced bleeding, reduced need for transfusion, and superior neurocognitive outcomes. However, […]
Read MoreSince we need surgeons this obviously has a major effect on your anesthesia practice. Although surgeons play a large role in caring for patients under accountable care organization (ACO) models, Medicare-approved ACOs haven’t paid attention to them, according to a new study in Health Affairs. Researchers analyzed the experiences of 59 Medicare-approved ACOs using a […]
Read MoreCloud-based software services provider athenahealth has released its 2014 PayerView Report, which leverages the company’s data to provide insight into provider-payer relationships and ranks healthcare payers based on various metrics. Denial rate is one of those metrics. According to the report, here are the 10 payers with the lowest percentages of claims requiring backend rework. […]
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