Anesthetics News and Research

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Proliposomal ropivacaine may offer valuable new option for pain relief

A new "proliposomal" preparation of the local anesthetic drug ropivacaine may provide a valuable new option for pain relief in some clinical situations, with key advantages over other types of slow-release local anesthetics, suggest a pair of reports in Anesthesia & Analgesia.

15 Apr 2016

AANA reminds patients to share details of medication use with nurse anesthetist

Many surgical patients don't know that it's advisable to stop taking complementary and alternative medicine at least one to three weeks prior to surgery. During Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 13-19, 2016, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists is reminding patients to bring a list of all medications - prescription or not - to their pre-anesthesia interview, and to share details about their medication use with their Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist or other anesthesia professional.

16 Mar 2016

Needle-free administration of anesthetic in the mouth could save costs, improve patient compliance

If you're scared of the dentist's needles you're not alone - but new research means you might not have to put off that appointment again. A study published in Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces reveals how the dentist could give you anesthetic using a tiny electric current instead of a needle.

19 Jan 2016

New Josie Robertson Surgery Center provides optimal care for patients undergoing cancer surgery

A major transformation is beginning in cancer surgery that will enable patients to go home within a day of undergoing a significant operation. The new Josie Robertson Surgery Center, opened by Memorial Sloan Kettering, exemplifies that transformation: a patient-focused facility that leverages technology and highly trained clinical teams to provide optimal care.

29 Dec 2015

New study finds relationship between socioeconomic factors and distribution of anesthesia providers

A new study suggests that Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are the main anesthesia professionals ensuring patient access to critical anesthesia care in lower-income areas where the populations are more likely to be uninsured, unemployed and/or Medicaid eligible.

10 Dec 2015

Containing Airborne Contaminants

An interview with Gary Broomhead, discussing the potential sources of contamination in research and how controlling airflow in the laboratory can reduce this.

26 Nov 2015

New doctoral thesis reveals potential treatment for stress-induced cardiomyopathy

Stress induced cardiomyopathy after cerebral hemorrhage has been shown to increase the risk of further brain damage. These patients can now be identified by a simple blood test, and a possible treatment for stress induced cardiomyopathy has been discovered - a different kind of anesthesia than that currently being used. A new doctoral thesis at Sahlgrenska Academy has explored these issues.

26 Nov 2015

Combatting viral and bacterial lung infections with volatile anesthetics: an interview with Dr Chakravarthy

Inhaled anesthetics are fairly common all over the world for minor and extensive surgical procedures in patients of all age groups. In the olden days when anesthesia was first developed, ether was the first inhaled anesthetic. That has been replaced, with the more recent discoveries of sevoflurane, isoflurane, and desflurane.

9 Nov 2015

Advanced pain management fellowship prepares CRNAs to meet needs of Americans with chronic pain

As the first program of its kind in the United States, an advanced pain management fellowship prepares Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) with the pain management skills necessary to meet the needs of Americans with chronic pain, according to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists.

4 Nov 2015

Brief exposure to general anesthesia during infancy does not affect neurological development

Although the medical community has raised concerns about the safety of anesthesia on the developing brains of young children, new research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2015 annual meeting, found brief exposure to general anesthesia during infancy did not impair neurological development. This is the first prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial to assess the long-term, neurological effects of anesthesia in children.

27 Oct 2015

Limited use of general anesthesia does not cause developmental problems for children

An international team of researchers that includes a pediatric anesthesiologist from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado is reporting that limited use of general anesthesia with an infant does not cause developmental problems for the child.

27 Oct 2015

Discovery may provide noninvasive approach to assessing toxic effects of anesthetic agents in children

Could looking at the eyes provide a new way of studying how anesthesia affects the developing brain? The retinas of immature mice exposed to one widely used general anesthetic show evidence of "programmed cell death," or apoptosis, reports a study in Anesthesia & Analgesia.

19 Oct 2015

Innovative technologies offer hope to people living with chronic pain

More than 100 million people in this country have pain that won't go away. Many of these chronic pain sufferers fail to get relief from pills, shots and even surgery, while others temporarily trade the pain for side effects such as drowsiness or digestive problems.

11 Sep 2015

Repeated exposure to anesthesia early in life causes long-term behavioral changes

Repeated exposure to anesthesia early in life causes alterations in emotional behavior that may persist long-term, according to a study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in collaboration with the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and published in the Online First edition of Anesthesiology, the official medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

4 Sep 2015

Volatile anesthetics may combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung

In use for more than a century, inhaled anesthetics like nitrous oxide and halothane have made modern surgery possible. Now, in experiments in mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere have added to evidence that certain so-called "volatile" anesthetics -- commonly used during surgeries -- may also possess powerful effects on the immune system that can combat viral and bacterial infections in the lung, including influenza and pneumonia.

2 Sep 2015

Research reveals why older adults who undergo general anesthesia experience postoperative delirium

Newly published research from the Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine explains why up to half of older adults who undergo general anesthesia develop postoperative delirium - the sudden onset of confusion, aggression or agitated behavior that could progress to dementia. The findings indicate that older patients who are undergoing surgery may benefit from a less-potent, slower-acting anesthetic.

26 Aug 2015

MGH papers reveal the way anesthetics affect brains of older patients and children

Recent Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigations into the neurobiology underlying the effects of general anesthesia have begun to reveal the ways different anesthetic agents alter specific aspects of the brain's electrical signals, reflected by EEG (electroencephalogram) signatures. While those studies have provided information that may lead to improved techniques for monitoring the consciousness of patients receiving general anesthesia, until now they have been conducted in relatively young adult patients.

14 Aug 2015

New review points to most promising areas for liposomes' further development

An international group of scientists, including Vladimir Chupin, head of the Biophysics Section at MIPT, and Vladimir Torchilin (Northeastern University, the USA), one of the world's leading experts in pharmacology, recently presented a review of liposomes, microscopic capsules widely used all over the world in the development of new drugs.

11 Aug 2015

Screening questionnaire helps anesthesia professionals identify SDB symptoms in children prior to surgery

Knowing which risks may come into play before or during surgery is especially important where children are concerned.