Editor's Note On July 14 and 15, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) hosted a virtual event, the Anesthesia Quality and Patient Safety Meeting, which brought to light new research on when to administer epidural anesthesia in the OR, an anesthesiologist-led infection prevention program reducing rates of surgical site infections…

Read More

Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS) presents a challenge to anesthesiologists and surgeons alike in the OR. Clinicians often do not know how to identify and treat this condition, and it can go undetected for years. “I think the reason many anesthesiologists, even pain specialists, aren’t well versed or aware of MALS…

Read More

Editor's Note A new study led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) finds reduced opioid administration during surgery unintendedly increased postoperative pain and opioid use. The retrospective cohort study included 61,249 individuals who underwent noncardiac surgery with general anesthesia from April 2016 to March 2020. The maximal pain score…

Read More

Editor's Note This Japanese study, for the first time, examined kinematics and kinetics of the hip joint during driver golf swings of patients who had a total hip arthroplasty (THA) and finds that the swings do not contribute excessive force to the implant. The researchers recruited 10 primary THA patients…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on April 13, updated prescribing information for all opioid pain medications, including requiring all packaging to have updated labeling and safety information. This includes stating that: for both immediate-release (IR) and extended release/long acting (ER/LA) opioid pain medications, the risk of overdose…

Read More

Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, finds that total hip (THA) and total knee (TKA) arthroplasty patients could be prescribed less opioids after surgery without the need for refills. The analysis included a cohort of 120,889 opioid-naïve primary total joint arthroplasty patients aged 18 to…

Read More

Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, finds that postoperative opioid prescriptions written by advanced practice clinicians (APCs), defined as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, had higher total dosages compared with those written by surgeons. A total of 628,197 surgical procedures involving 581,387 adults…

Read More

Editor's Note The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA Pain Medicine) developed and published on May 23 recommendations clinicians should take during the current shortage of the iodinated contrast medium (ICM) iohexol. Contrast medium, according to ASRA Pain Medicine, is used to confirm accurate needle placement and…

Read More