Anesthesiology News and Research

RSS

The branch of medicine that is focused on the relief of pain in the perioperative period (i.e. before, during or after a surgical procedure) is known as anesthesiology. The medicaments administered are termed anesthesia and the doctor who is trained in this specialty is referred to as an anesthesiologist

New research on safest way to position women during labor

New research is challenging what many obstetricians and physician anesthesiologists believe is the best way to position women during labor. According to a study published in the February issue of Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the traditional practice of positioning women on their side, with hips tilted at 15 degrees, during labor does not effectively reduce compression of the inferior vena cava, a large vein located near the abdominal area that returns blood to the heart, as previously thought.

21 Jan 2015

Controlling acute and chronic pain in women

Despite the variety of effective treatments, and physicians who specialize in treating pain, women often suffer unnecessarily from conditions ranging from backaches to pain after cancer surgery, and also treat their pain with medications that may be ineffective and possibly harmful, according to a review of research related to women and pain by the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

20 Jan 2015

Doximity names UC San Diego School of Medicine among nation's top residency training programs

UC San Diego School of Medicine was today named one of the nation's top residency training programs in 10 specialties by Doximity. The Doximity report included more than 50,000 peer nominations from board-certified US physicians, and evaluated 3,691 residency training programs across 20 specialties.

14 Jan 2015

ASA offers tips for safe surgery, anesthesia experience

Surgery and anesthesia are safer than ever, but most patients don't know about the steps they can and should take to make their experience safer and more comfortable.

12 Jan 2015

BD Medical announces FDA clearance of BD Intelliport Medication Management System

BD Medical, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the BD Intelliport Medication Management System, the first-of-its-kind medication management solution for manual IV bolus injections.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 7 Jan 2015

Two studies shed new light on risks associated with blood transfusions

Two studies published in the January issue of Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, shed new light on the prevalence of transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) and transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO), the number one and two leading causes of blood transfusion-related deaths in the United States.

16 Dec 2014

New holistic approach to cancer treatment

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and UnitedHealthcare have launched a pilot to explore a new cancer care payment model for head and neck cancers that focuses on quality patient care and outcomes. The collaboration is among the first using bundled payments in a large, comprehensive cancer center.

15 Dec 2014

Review provides evidence to support benefits of Perioperative Surgical Home model

The Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) model consistently and significantly improves quality of care for patients and reduces health care costs, reports a first-of-its-kind, large-scale literature review of the PSH in the United States and abroad. The review, published online this month in Milbank Quarterly, provides further evidence to support the benefits, and encourage the adoption, of the PSH model.

14 Dec 2014

Fruits and vegetables intake at school provides significant dietary boost to low income kids

The fruits and vegetables provided at school deliver an important dietary boost to low income adolescents, according to Meghan Longacre, PhD and Madeline Dalton, PhD of Dartmouth Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center and The Hood Center for Children and Families.

12 Dec 2014

Laughing gas could be used as treatment for severe depression

Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, has shown early promise as a potential treatment for severe depression in patients whose symptoms don't respond to standard therapies. The pilot study, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is believed to be the first research in which patients with depression were given laughing gas.

10 Dec 2014

Researchers say that nervous system may play vital role in infections, autoimmune diseases

The nervous system may play a bigger role in infections and autoimmune diseases than previously known. If researchers can learn more about that role, it could provide insight into diagnosing and treating everything from the stomach flu to rheumatoid arthritis.

27 Nov 2014

National Spine & Pain Centers opens new pain management center in Cumberland, Maryland

Over 100 million adults suffer from chronic pain and about half of those suffer from this pain daily. Chronic and acute pain dramatically impacts quality of life. The specialty of pain management is born to fulfill the need for non-surgical, interventional solutions and medication management to treat all types of pain.

26 Nov 2014

Opioid abuse in pregnant women increases 127% in 14 years

The number of pregnant women who abuse or are dependent on opioids (narcotics) jumped 127 percent in 14 years, leading to an increased risk of maternal death and stillbirth among other serious problems, according to a review of more than 57 million American women admitted for delivery.

19 Nov 2014

Spinal cord injuries can cause brain degeneration, find UM SOM researchers

Most research on spinal cord injuries has focused on effects due to spinal cord damage and scientists have neglected the effects on brain function. University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have found for the first time that spinal cord injuries (SCI) can cause widespread and sustained brain inflammation that leads to progressive loss of nerve cells, with associated cognitive problems and depression.

17 Nov 2014

Study shows how anesthesia affects cells in central nervous system

Anesthesia, long considered a blessing to patients and surgeons, has been a mystery for much of its 160-plus-year history in the operating room.

14 Nov 2014

Scratching itchy skin causes the brain to release serotonin, intensifies itchy feeling

Turns out your mom was right: Scratching an itch only makes it worse. New research from scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that scratching causes the brain to release serotonin, which intensifies the itch sensation.

31 Oct 2014

‘Neuroprotective’ effects of smoking disputed

The apparent neuroprotective effect of smoking may simply be because ease of quitting smoking is a marker of prodromal Parkinson’s disease, say researchers.

22 Oct 2014

Anaesthesia editorial challenges placenta's role in pre-eclampsia

Pre-eclampsia, the potentially deadly condition that affects pregnant women, may be caused by problems meeting the oxygen demands of the growing fetus, according to an editorial in the November issue of Anaesthesia, the journal of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

20 Oct 2014

Study: Nursing home care quality not associated with risk of hospital readmission or death

Nursing home care quality does not impact the likelihood of patients being readmitted to the hospital or dying within 30 days of discharge from hospital to nursing home, according to a new analysis of Medicare data and nursing home performance measures by Penn Medicine researchers.

16 Oct 2014

Study shows pain severity among post-surgical patients has decreased by 24%

A new study shows that pain severity among post-surgical patients has decreased by 24 percent since 2003. The study, presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY™ 2014 annual meeting, shows vast improvements in the field of pain management for surgical patients.