Editor's Note Total knee patients in enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs have less pain and recuperate faster, finds this study presented October 23 at the Anesthesiology 2016 annual meeting. The study, from Rush University Medical Center (Chicago), included 243 total knee patients, who were provided a combination of postoperative…

Read More

Editor's Note Implementing the Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) model resulted in improved patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, and shorter hospital stays in this study presented October 22 at the Anesthesiology 2016 annual meeting. The study included 1,356 patients who had total knee, hip, or shoulder replacements. Half received care under the…

Read More

Patient satisfaction scores are more important than ever in light of value-based care and their influence on Medicare reimbursement. Employing top-notch surgeons, improving teamwork and communication, and minimizing case delays are some ways to help boost HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey scores. But healthcare providers…

Read More

Is it possible to adequately capture the experience of patients undergoing anesthesia when their awareness and perceptions are typically altered by their very experience? A 5-year study of anesthesia patient satisfaction suggests that not only is it possible, but the results are meaningful in providing anesthesia-specific validation and in identifying…

Read More

Editor's Note In older adults with unstable ankle fractures, close contact casting compared with surgery resulted in similar functional outcomes at 6 months, this study finds. The study, which included 620 patients (309 surgery, 311 casting) from 24 hospitals, found that postfracture symptoms, quality of life, pain, ankle motion, and…

Read More

Editor's Note This study found no clinically significant differences between continuous femoral nerve block (cFNB), local infiltration analgesia (LIA), and single femoral nerve block (sFNB) for pain during physical therapy 2 days after total knee arthroplasty. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in 48-hour opioid consumption or functional…

Read More

Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) has developed a pediatric surgical risk calculator based on 181,353 cases covering 382 CPT codes across all specialties. It was found to have excellent discrimination for mortality, morbidity, and seven additional complications. The calculator can be…

Read More

Editor's Note Surgical ICU patients who were assigned to an early mobilization program were discharged sooner from the ICU and the hospital and needed less help after discharge, compared with those who had standard care, this study finds. The analysis included 104 patients assigned to early mobilization and 96 who…

Read More

Editor's Note In this meta-analysis, propofol anesthesia was associated with reduced postoperative pain intensity at 30 minutes, 1 hour, and 12 hours as well as reduced morphine-equivalent consumption 0 to 24 hours postoperatively. Fewer patients required postoperative rescue analgesics during 0 to 24 hours after surgery under propofol, and patients…

Read More

Editor's Note At 10 years, prostate cancer mortality was low irrespective of the treatment, and with no significant difference among monitoring (1.5 deaths/1,000 person years), surgery (0.9/1,000), or radiotherapy (0.7/1,000), finds this study. Radical prostatectomy and external beam radiotherapy were associated with lower incidences of disease progression and metastases than…

Read More