Authors: Danny J. N. Wong, F.R.C.A., Ph.D. et al Anesthesiology April 2021 Background Tracheal intubation for patients with COVID-19 is required for invasive mechanical ventilation. The authors sought to describe practice for emergency intubation, estimate success rates and complications, and determine variation in practice and outcomes between high-income and low- and middle-income countries. The authors […]
Read MoreAUTHORS: Sonia D Mehta, David Smyth et al. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2021 Apr; 17(4): 737-743 BACKGROUND As the obesity epidemic worsens, anesthesiologists should expect to see more obese patients presenting for surgical procedures. Opioids cause respiratory depression, which has caused complications in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Opioids can also cause nausea, prolonging the […]
Read MoreAuthors: Philipp Simon, M.D., Ph.D. et al Anesthesiology April 2021 Background General anesthesia may cause atelectasis and deterioration in oxygenation in obese patients. The authors hypothesized that individualized positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) improves intraoperative oxygenation and ventilation distribution compared to fixed PEEP. Methods This secondary analysis included all obese patients recruited at University Hospital of Leipzig […]
Read MoreAuthors: Brian M. Ilfeld, M.D., M.S. et al Anesthesiology April 2021. Background Percutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation is an analgesic technique involving the percutaneous implantation of a lead followed by the delivery of electric current using an external pulse generator. Percutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation has been used extensively for chronic pain, but only uncontrolled series have […]
Read MoreAuthors: Glenn S. Murphy, M.D. et al Anesthesiology May 2021, Vol. 134, 697–708. Background Despite application of multimodal pain management strategies, patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery frequently report severe postoperative pain. Methadone and ketamine, which are N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonists, have been documented to facilitate postoperative pain control. This study therefore tested the primary hypothesis that patients […]
Read MoreDG Alerts Study data published in The New England Journal of Medicine suggest that vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCov-19 (AstraZeneca) against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can result in the rare development of immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia mediated by platelet-activating antibodies against platelet factor 4 (PF4), which clinically mimics autoimmune heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. A first study involved 11 patients in Germany and Austria […]
Read MoreAuthors: Michael L. McManus, M.D., M.P.H. et al Anesthesiology April 2021 Background In 2015, the American College of Surgeons began its Children’s Surgery Verification Quality Improvement Program, promulgating standards intended to promote regionalization and improve pediatric surgical care. It was hypothesized that pediatric surgical care was already highly regionalized and concentrated before implementation of the […]
Read MoreAUTHOR: Dibash Kumar Das ASA Monitor April 2021, Vol. 85, 1–13. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVI) has become the standard of care for patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis. Since its introduction, the majority of TAVI procedures have been performed under general anesthesia. Initially developed as a less invasive alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement for […]
Read MoreAuthors: Mark D. Willingham, M.D. et al Anesthesiology April 2021 Background Pain that lingers beyond the early weeks after the acute postoperative period is an important risk factor for chronic postsurgical pain. This study examined the hypothesis that patients’ expectations about their postsurgical pain would be independently associated with lingering postsurgical pain. Methods The study […]
Read MoreBy Amy Orciari Herman NEJM Journal Watch Patients with thrombosis and thrombocytopenia in the weeks after COVID-19 vaccination should not receive platelet transfusions or heparin and rather should be treated with a nonheparin anticoagulant and intravenous immune globulin, researchers suggest in the New England Journal of Medicine. The article includes an algorithm for testing and treating […]
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