Looking toward 2022, spine procedures are expected to drive growth and optimize performance in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Michael Ast, MD, chief medical innovation officer for HSS, Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, can attest to this personally. A year ago, his father could not even walk up a…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on September 23, identified the recall by Armstrong Medical of certain lots of its Amsorb Plus Prefilled G-Can 1.0L canisters as Class I, the most serious. Amsorb Plus is a chemical substance used in anesthesia machines to absorb carbon dioxide the patient…

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Perioperative services leaders have their hands full with a range of pressing issues, from the return of elective case cancellations to new struggles with staff turnover. However, an even bigger problem is flying under the radar for many hospitals—impending changes in the market for anesthesiology services. Several factors are coming…

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Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) on August 4 updated their guidance for perioperative testing for COVID-19 to say that all patients having anesthetics or surgical procedures with the potential to generate aerosols should have preoperative testing for COVID-19, regardless of their…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers with the University of Birmingham, England-led COVIDSurg-GlobalSurg Collaboratives (global partnerships of more than 15,000 surgeons) finds that patients who isolate before their surgical procedures to protect themselves from COVID-19 have a higher risk of postoperative pulmonary complications than those who don’t isolate. Researchers analyzed…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the UK finds that insertion and removal of supraglottic airway devices for general anesthesia do not generate aerosols and should not be designated as aerosol generating procedures (AGPs). Working in an ultraclean environment, the researchers used a highly sensitive aerosol detector to measure…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern and Children’s Health, Dallas, finds that children with nonsevere COVID-19 had higher rates of respiratory complications during and after general anesthesia than controls, but severe morbidity was rare and there were no deaths. A total of 99 patients…

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Cancellations of some surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic and case rescheduling have been a major focus for perioperative leaders. But changes are also occurring in anesthesia practices. For many surgical procedures, the use of regional anesthesia or nerve blocks, coupled with light sedation, is reported to double if the…

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Advancements in technology have made it easier to distract children and ease their fears when they are undergoing surgery, but managing this patient population presents unique challenges. To guide parents and children through the surgery experience, leaders at some ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) have turned to child life specialists, innovative…

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Editor's Note In this study, researchers from David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, quantify the current representatives of the US healthcare workforce and changes during the past 2 decades. Among the findings: The percentage of White men among physicians…

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