Editor's Note Medscape’s 2023 Physician Lifestyle and Happiness Report finds that physician happiness fell during the COVID-19 pandemic and is not rebounding easily, the January 20 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The survey findings include: 59% of physicians say they are “somewhat” or “very happy,” down from 84% before COVID-19. The…
Takeaways • Children are not small adults. Greater attention should be paid to their fears and anxiety, and equipment and medication should be tailored to meet their needs. • All staff should have Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification. • ASCs can use toys and games as distractions to ease…
Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has updated its 2017 guidelines for preoperative fasting and the use of pharmacologic agents to reduce the risk of pulmonary aspiration. The new 2023 guidance focuses on topics not addressed in the previous guideline, including ingestion of carbohydrate-containing clear liquids with or…
Editor's Note This study by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, finds that patients participating in an Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) program were prescribed significantly fewer opioids at discharge, compared to patients before ERAS was instituted. A total of 3,983 patients were included (1,929 pre-ERAS and 2,054 post-ERAS).…
Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, finds that the introduction and removal of Michigan’s executive order curtailing elective surgery during COVID-19 lagged behind the ramp-down and ramp-up of elective surgery volume. Hospitals had already achieved a 91.7% reduction in case volume before the executive order…
Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, finds that a liberal preoperative fasting policy allowing adults scheduled for general anesthesia to drink clear fluids until arrival in the OR was associated with reduced fasting duration and improved patient well-being with regard…
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 16 identified the recall by Teleflex and Arrow International, LLC, of its Arrow MAC Two-Lumen Central Venous Access Kits and Arrow Pressure Injectable Arrowg+ard Blue Plus Three-Lumen Central Venous Catheter (CVC) Kits as Class I, the most serious. The recall…
Navigating contracts with anesthesia when anesthesiology services are suffering from workforce shortages and high costs is often tricky and complex. The biggest mistake ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) make is that they do not know what they want when entering a contract negotiation with an anesthesia provider. As a result, ASCs…
Editor's Note This study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, finds that increased time from COVID-19 diagnosis to having a surgical procedure was linked to decreased odds of experiencing major postoperative cardiovascular (CV) complications. A total of 3,997 adult patients who had a previous diagnosis of COVID-19 and underwent…
Editor's Note In this study, researchers from Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, find that mortality after major surgery is elevated in older adults who are frail or who have probable dementia. A total of 1,193 major surgical procedures in 992 Medicare beneficiaries were analyzed. Among the findings: Overall,…