Editor's Note In this study, the composition of the anesthesia care team (anesthesiologist plus nurse anesthetist or anesthesiologist assistant) was not associated with any significant differences in mortality, length of stay, or inpatient spending. Of 443,098 Medicare beneficiaries who had inpatient surgery between 2004 and 2011, the adjusted mortality for…

Read More

Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) on April 25 reported that a national drug shortage of injectable opioids and local anesthetics is negatively affecting care received by patients under anesthesia. An informal survey of 2,500 ASA members, found that 98% are now experiencing drug shortages at their institutions,…

Read More

Editor's Note The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) on March 19 expressed strong opposition to the decision by insurer Anthem, Inc, that ophthalmologists assume responsibility for the administration of anesthesia and patient monitoring during cataract procedures. “Ophthalmologists are no more qualified to administer anesthesia than CRNAs are to perform…

Read More

Editor's Note Dedicated OR teams for a colorectal Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) program at Johns Hopkins Hospital led to anesthesia providers becoming more central to the ERAS network, which increased process measure compliance and improved clinical outcomes in this study. Before the dedicated OR teams were instituted, surgeons were…

Read More

Editor's Note Complete handover of intraoperative anesthesia care was significantly linked to adverse postoperative outcomes in this Canadian study. In this analysis of 313,066 adult patients having major surgery, complete intraoperative handover of anesthesia care, compared with no handover, was significantly associated with a higher risk of a composite of…

Read More

Throughput inefficiencies are a growing problem in surgical services departments. Patients are held in the OR because there is no room in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU), and patients are held in the PACU because there are no beds available in the patient care unit or because outpatients having major…

Read More

Editor's Note For the National Patient Safety Foundation’s Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 12 to 18, certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are urging surgical, obstetric, and chronic pain patients to learn about the risks and benefits of pain relief options available to them, including opioid and non-opioid treatments. Partnering with…

Read More

Editor's Note The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on December 13 issued a final rule allowing full practice authority for certain advanced practice registered nurses working in VA facilities, including certified nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and certified nurse midwives. The rule excludes certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), following lobbying…

Read More

Editor's Note Double gloving by anesthesia providers was associated with less spread of oral inoculum to the workstation but was not uniformly protective in this simulation study. Between-case cleaning was found to be ineffective in removing contaminants, indicating that biologic material from one patient may still be present for subsequent…

Read More

Editor's Note Scope of practice restrictions and physician supervision requirements for nurse anesthetists have no impact on anesthesia patient safety, this study finds. Examining 5.7 million anesthesia cases, researchers found that anesthesia complications differed significantly with: patient characteristics patient comorbidities the procedures being administered. Complication odds did not differ by…

Read More