Anesthesiology News and Research

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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

Mortality after cardiac surgery: an interview with Dr. Bryan G. Maxwell, Johns Hopkins Medicine

The last decade has seen a strong movement towards the use of various quality measurements to grade medical care. In surgery, 30-day mortality is one of the most common benchmarks. We wanted to determine if patterns of postoperative mortality showed any signs that the process of measuring medical care might actually alter how (and when) care is provided or withdrawn.

6 May 2014

Study: Depression affects more than one out of three critical care survivors

Depression affects more than one out of three survivors of critical illness, according to a Vanderbilt study released in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, and the majority of patients experience their symptoms physically rather than mentally.

26 Apr 2014

Enhanced recovery approach used for colorectal surgery cut hospital stays

Changes in managing patients before, during and after colorectal surgery cut hospital stays by two days and reduced readmission rates, according to researchers who led a study of the approach at Duke University Hospital.

25 Apr 2014

Better educated people appear to recover from traumatic brain injury

Better-educated people appear to be significantly more likely to recover from a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), suggesting that a brain's "cognitive reserve" may play a role in helping people get back to their previous lives, new Johns Hopkins research shows.

25 Apr 2014

New tool can help doctors identify patients at highest risk for respiratory failure after surgery

A new prediction tool can help doctors better identify patients who are at highest risk for respiratory failure after surgery and therefore prevent the often deadly condition, suggest data from a large multi-center study published in the May issue of Anesthesiology.

23 Apr 2014

Study helps physicians better identify patients at risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome

Acute respiratory distress syndrome is a leading cause of respiratory failure after surgery. Patients who develop the lung disorder postoperatively are at higher risk of dying in the hospital, and those who survive the syndrome may still bear its physical effects years later.

22 Apr 2014

MEDNAX acquires Fredericksburg Anesthesia Associates

MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of Fredericksburg Anesthesia Associates, Inc., a private practice physician group based in Fredericksburg, Va. The practice will become part of MEDNAX's American Anesthesiology division and is the third Virginia-based anesthesia practice to join the division.

21 Apr 2014

New insight provides potential to improve treatment for sepsis

In a review published in the April issue of Immunity, Kevin J. Tracey, MD, president of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, says it's time to take a fresh look at the medical community's approach to treating sepsis, which kills millions worldwide every year, including more than 200,000 Americans.

18 Apr 2014

UC pain researcher solves a long-standing scientific mystery

By solving a long standing scientific mystery, the common saying "you just hit a nerve" might need to be updated to "you just hit a Merkel cell," jokes Jianguo Gu, PhD, a pain researcher at the University of Cincinnati.

16 Apr 2014

New patient-centered, team-based approach may help surgical decision making for sick, elderly patients

Surgical decision making for sick, elderly patients should be orchestrated by a multidisciplinary team, including the patient, his or her family, the surgeon, primary care physician, nurses and non-clinicians, such as social workers, advocates Laurent G. Glance, M.D., in a perspective piece published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

11 Apr 2014

Spike in mortality after cardiac surgery is associated with 30 days survival measurement

Analyzing a national database of hospital inpatient records, a team of researchers reports an expected spike in mortality six days after cardiac surgery, but also a more surprising and potentially troubling jump in deaths at the 30-day mark.

10 Apr 2014

Research offers scientific approach to make transporting decisions of critical-care patients

University of Cincinnati research is offering hospitals and trauma centers a unique, accurate and scientific approach to making decisions about transporting critical-care patients by air or by ambulance.

8 Apr 2014

ASA chooses Premier to develop perioperative surgical home model of care

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today announced it has chosen Premier, Inc., a leading health care improvement company, to develop a first-of-its-kind learning collaborative for the ASA's Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) model of care.

8 Apr 2014

Researchers identify possible way to prevent headaches of climbers

By monitoring blood flow in the brains of six climbers scaling Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, German medical researchers have identified a possible way to prevent the headaches that are a common feature of altitude sickness. This work appears in the latest issue of JNIRS—Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy.

4 Apr 2014

Ketamine offers novel treatment for patients with severe depression

New data show ketamine (a drug widely used for anaesthesia and pain relief) has a rapid antidepressant effect in some patients with severe depression. The first UK study of ketamine intravenous infusions in people with treatment-resistant depression was conducted by the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Oxford.

3 Apr 2014

Managing pregnancy-related complications: an interview with Dr. Mark Zakowski

Pregnancy-related mortality has increased over the last 25 years. Ten years ago the top three pregnancy-related mortality diagnoses were hemorrhage, preeclampsia, and embolism (includes thrombotic and amniotic).

2 Apr 2014

Mechanical circulatory assist device may have untapped potential in heart surgery patients, say physicians

The most frequently used mechanical circulatory assist device in the world may have untapped potential, physicians say.

31 Mar 2014

New approach can improve patient outcomes, reduce complications in complex spine surgeries

A new team approach has improved safety-reducing rates of major complications by two thirds-for complex spinal reconstructive surgery for spinal deformity in adult Group Health patients at Virginia Mason Hospital & Seattle Medical Center.

27 Mar 2014

Vancouver-led research initiative awarded $1.5M grant to prevent deaths of moms and babies

A Vancouver-led research initiative to prevent deaths of moms and babies got a boost recently with a new $1.5-million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will expand efforts to improve diagnosis and care for pregnant women with pre-eclampsia.