Editor's Note In this study, researchers found microorganisms with the potential to cause infections being injected into patients during administration of drugs by anesthesiologists during surgical procedures. The study included 23 anesthesiologists, each anesthetizing up to 25 patients. The anesthesiologists were asked to inject all bolus drugs, except propofol and…

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Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists and Premiere on February 9 announced results from the first phase of the Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) learning collaborative. The collaborative included 44 healthcare organizations that piloted and evaluated the PSH model from July 2014 through November 2015. Many members of the collaborative…

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Editor's Note The American Pain Society, American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists have issued a new guideline on the “Management of Postoperative Pain.” The guideline provides recommendations that address aspects of postoperative pain management, including: preoperative education perioperative pain management planning use…

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Editor's Note No significant association was found between cumulative exposure to general anesthesia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in patients over 40 years of age in this study from the Mayo Clinic. Of 1,731 patients aged 70 to 89 who were cognitively normal as of October 2004, 85% had at…

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Is your preanesthesia testing area providing measurable value, and is it positioned to drive surgery toward a new paradigm of care? As government payers shift toward value-based care with the required bundled payment for total joints starting in 800 hospitals and 75 markets (as part of the Comprehensive Care for…

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Editor's Note The number of additional attending anesthesiologists and in-room providers (ie, anesthesia residents, nurse anesthetists) involved in a surgical procedure was independently associated with an increased odds of postoperative complications in this study. Though a surgical patient may receive anesthesia care from several anesthesia providers, the safety of anesthesia…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration, on December 23, 2015, classified the recall of the Perseus A500 Anesthesia Workstation by Draeger as Class I, the most serious. Draeger Medical (Telford, Pennsylvania) recalled the workstation because a faulty power switch may fail, causing the workstation to alarm and shut down…

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Editor's Note Pediatric anesthesia programs in the US do not have a consistent approach in managing anesthesia-related neurotoxicity in children, this study finds. A survey of 22 questions sent to members of the Pediatric Anesthesia Leadership Council and Pediatric Anesthesia Directors Association found that a significant need exists for improvements…

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Editor's Note In this study, a supplemental alert for severe intraoperative hypotension did not reduce the duration of hypotension or hospitalization. Because intraoperative hypotension is associated with complications that might be ameliorated by earlier intervention, researchers randomized 1,598 patients to hypotension alerts and 1,567 to no alerts. The median time…

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Editor's Note Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) are the main anesthesia providers ensuring patient access to anesthesia care in lower-income areas where patients are more likely to be uninsured, unemployed, and/or Medicaid eligible, this study finds. Anesthesiologists are more closely aligned with counties that have higher income populations. Lessening restrictions…

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