Authors: LaRae C. Brown, MD, MHA, FACOG; Keya A. Locke, MD, MBA ASA Monitor December 2023, Vol. 87, 28–29. During an emergency cesarean delivery, communication, clinical expertise, and collaboration are imperative for the multidisciplinary team. In that moment, there is nothing more crucial to the well-being of the patient than the dyad of an obstetrician and anesthesiologist. […]
Read MoreAuthors: Feven Tesfalidet, MD et al ASA Monitor December 2023, Vol. 87, 23–25. Despite advancements in medical science and the American health care system, significant disparities in health care outcomes persist, especially among marginalized racial, ethnic, and gender groups (Unequal Treatment Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. 2020; ASA Monitor 2021;85:45-8; J Womens Health 2021;30:230-5; Dermatol Clin 2020;38:185-90). These disparities […]
Read MoreAuthor: Steven L. Shafer, MD, FASA ASA Monitor December 2023, Vol. 87, 8–9. Margaret Thatcher famously stated “crime is crime is crime.” I disagreed with Ms. Thatcher on many issues, but I appreciated the moral clarity of her tautology. On Friday, October 6, 2023, 50 years and one day after Egypt and Syria staged a surprise […]
Read MoreASA Monitor December 2023, Vol. 87, 18. Protection against RSV illness for infants The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended the first-ever respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for pregnant individuals to protect newborns from severe RSV illness. RSV is a leading cause of infant hospitalization in the United States. The vaccine, Pfizer’s bivalent […]
Read MoreASA Monitor December 2023, Vol. 87, 18. Small molecule drug for gene therapies Researchers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have discovered that a readily available and inexpensive small-molecule drug can enhance the fitness of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) when they are modified outside the body, potentially improving the success of procedures like ex […]
Read MoreAuthor: Keith H. Baker, M.D., Ph.D. Anesthesiology Newly Published on November 2023. To the Editor: It was a pleasure to see a letter to the editor in Anesthesiology that mentioned the learning advantage of pictures compared to words.1 This advantage is known as the picture superiority effect. I was skeptical of the stated learning advantage of the picture […]
Read MoreAuthor: George Williams, MD, FASA, FCCM, FCCP ASA Monitor December 2023, Vol. 87, 26. Diversity education and awareness have long been recognized by many organizations outside and inside the house of medicine as being important for achieving resilient organizations. With regard to medical education, the Association of American Medical Colleges famously announced an ambitious goal of […]
Read MoreAuthor: Keya A. Locke, MD, MBA ASA Monitor December 2023, Vol. 87, 19. As we take stock of where we are and all that has come before – of all that was lost and all that was won on the arduous road toward equity in the realization of the American dream for all peoples, I am compelled to […]
Read MoreAUTHORS: Thilen, Stephan R. MD, MS et al Anesthesia & Analgesia 136(6):p 1143-1153, June 2023. BACKGROUND: Postoperative residual neuromuscular blockade (PRNB) is defined as an adductor pollicis train-of-four ratio (TOFR) <0.9. It is a common postoperative complication when nondepolarizing muscle relaxants are either not reversed or reversed with neostigmine. PRNB has been reported in 25% to […]
Read MoreAUTHORS: Harutyunyan, Robert MSc et al Anesthesia & Analgesia 136(6):p 1084-1095, June 2023. BACKGROUND: Medical technology is expanding at an alarming rate, with its integration into health care often reflected by the constant evolution of best practices. This rapid expansion of available treatment modalities, when coupled with progressively increasing amounts of consequential data for health care […]
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