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

Etanercept can restore responsiveness to pain-relieving effects of morphine: Study

A drug called etanercept can restore responsiveness to the pain-relieving effects of morphine in rats that have developed morphine tolerance, reports a study in the February issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

29 Jan 2011

Nitrous oxide anesthesia may lead to increased risk of myocardial infarction: Study

Patients receiving nitrous oxide as part of general anesthesia for surgery may be at increased long-term risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack), reports a study in the February issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society.

29 Jan 2011

Phase III study affirms safety and efficacy of Cumberland's Caldolor for post-operative pain

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced the publication of data affirming the safety and efficacy of Caldolor® (ibuprofen) Injection in treating post-operative pain in hospitalized patients. A Phase III study published in the peer-reviewed journal Pain Practice concluded that IV ibuprofen significantly reduced both morphine use and self-reported pain intensity in patients recovering from abdominal hysterectomy compared to morphine alone.

27 Jan 2011

ASA concerned over non-availability of sodium thiopental

The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and its members are extremely troubled to learn that the anesthetic drug, sodium thiopental (Pentothal®), will no longer be available to patients in the U.S. or any other country due to the unfortunate circumstances in Italy that led the sole manufacturer, Hospira, to cease production of the drug.

25 Jan 2011

Study evaluates Masimo SpHb's accuracy in monitoring low hemoglobin levels

Masimo announced today that a new study demonstrating the clinical accuracy and value of its noninvasive and continuous hemoglobin monitoring technology breakthrough was presented this week at the Society of Critical Care Medicine Annual Critical Care Congress in San Diego.

21 Jan 2011

Anaesthetising an arm affects brain activity and rapidly impairs body perception

An Inserm research team in Toulouse, led by Dr Stein Silva (Inserm Unit 825 "Brain imaging and neurological handicaps"), working with the "Modelling tissue and nociceptive stress" Host Team (MATN IFR 150), were interested in studying the illusions described by many patients under regional anaesthetic.

20 Jan 2011

Study demonstrates clinical accuracy of Masimo's noninvasive, continuous hemoglobin monitoring technology

Masimo announced today that a new clinical study demonstrating the clinical accuracy of its noninvasive and continuous hemoglobin (SpHb®) monitoring technology breakthrough was presented last week at the Society for Technology in Anesthesia (STA) Annual Meeting.

19 Jan 2011

Cadence launches OFIRMEV pain medication in the U.S.

Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the launch of OFIRMEV™ (acetaminophen) injection, the first and only intravenous (IV) formulation of acetaminophen to be approved in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved OFIRMEV in November 2010 for the management of mild to moderate pain, the management of moderate to severe pain with adjunctive opioid analgesics, and the reduction of fever.

18 Jan 2011

Potential device to treat post-operative cognitive decline

It's called post-operative cognitive decline, a syndrome in which patients experience memory loss or other forms of cognitive dysfunction after surgery or critical illness.

18 Jan 2011

20% of cancer survivors experience chronic pain: Study

Surviving cancer may also mean surviving pain, according to a study by the University of Michigan Health System showing 20 percent of cancer survivors at least two years post diagnosis have current cancer-related chronic pain.

13 Jan 2011

Better monitoring, new techniques reduce anesthesia-related maternal deaths

The number of women who die from complications of anesthesia during childbirth has plummeted 59 percent over the last two decades thanks to improved monitoring and better medical techniques, according to a recent study.

7 Jan 2011

IV fluids for trauma patients may not be life savers all the time

Severely injured patients who are routinely given IV fluids by paramedics before transport to the nearest trauma center are significantly more likely to die than similarly injured patients who don't get the time-consuming IV treatment before hospitalization, new Johns Hopkins-led research suggests.

6 Jan 2011

High risk of burnout among residents and senior physicians

The January issue of the journal Anesthesiology examines the issue of burnout among anesthesiologists. Two studies provide significant burnout statistics among these highly trained medical specialists, and editorials offer personal perspective on the issue as well as advice on how best to avoid professional burnout.

5 Jan 2011

Study suggests new experimental drug is better than standard morphine

A little-known morphinelike drug is potentially more potent, longer lasting and less likely to cause constipation than standard morphine, a study led by a Loyola University Health System anesthesiologist has found.

5 Jan 2011

MEDNAX acquires Neonatal Medical Associates

MEDNAX, Inc., today announced the acquisition of a neonatal physician group in Long Beach, CA.

3 Jan 2011

New guideline provides evidence-based recommendation for children undergoing tonsillectomy

A multidisciplinary clinical practice guideline, "Tonsillectomy in Children" will be published in the January issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

3 Jan 2011

General anaesthesia brings reversible coma and not sleep: Study

Anaesthesia has been one of the greatest gifts of science and use of general anaesthesia is a routine part of surgical operations at hospitals and medical facilities around the world. However precise biological mechanisms of the drugs’ effects on the brain are only now being analyzed. In a review article published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists have tried to analyze a range of disciplines, including neuroscience and sleep medicine to understand how anaesthesia actually works.

2 Jan 2011

General anesthesia's similarities with and differences from sleep and coma

The use of general anesthesia is a routine part of surgical operations at hospitals and medical facilities around the world, but the precise biological mechanisms that underlie anesthetic drugs' effects on the brain and the body are only beginning to be understood. A review article in the December 30 New England Journal of Medicine brings together for the first time information from a range of disciplines, including neuroscience and sleep medicine, to lay the groundwork for more comprehensive investigations of processes underlying general anesthesia.

30 Dec 2010

Neuroscientists say that general anesthesia is a reversible coma

The brain under general anesthesia isn't "asleep" as surgery patients are often told -- it is placed into a state that is a reversible coma, according to three neuroscientists who have published an extensive review of general anesthesia, sleep and coma, in the Dec. 30 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

30 Dec 2010

Preoperative cerebral oxygen saturation could be a risk marker for adverse cardiac surgery outcome

A study published in the January 2011 issue of Anesthesiology is one of the first to show that low preoperative cerebral oxygen saturation (ScO2) could be an important physiological risk marker for adverse outcome in cardiac surgery patients.

23 Dec 2010