Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on November 25 approved a new system for the delivery of tympanostomy tubes into the eardrums of young children without using general anesthesia. The Tubes Under Local Anesthesia (Tula) System (Tusker Medical, Menlo Park, California) is the first ear tube delivery system…

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Editor's Note In this study, a software app that tracks perioperative controlled substance use and is integrated into the electronic health and pharmacy records and database systems was associated with a decrease in management errors. This analysis includes data on missing controlled substance medications, controlled substance kits, and witness return…

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Editor's Note In this study, the use of alcohol-based hand rub on nitrile examination gloves did not compromise glove integrity or hamper the ability of anesthesia providers to safely perform anesthesia functions. A total of 50 new gloves (not exposed to alcohol-based hand rub) were tested for integrity, and one…

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Editor's Note Ketamine use has grown as a pain management alternative to opioids, but more than one in three patients experience side effects such as hallucinations and visual disturbances, finds this study, which was presented October 21 at the Anesthesiology 2019 annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. Duke University researchers categorized…

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Editor's Note Patients having blood drawn by courteous healthcare providers were significantly more likely to say their pain was well-controlled, finds this study presented October 20 at the Anesthesiology 2019 annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. Analyzing responses from 4,740 adult patients on questions about pain control (range from 1 to…

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Editor's Note Medical marijuana shows early promise for lessening opioid use and potential abuse in a meta-analysis presented October 20 at the Anesthesiology 2019 annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. Overall the results suggest that medical marijuana may provide some benefits such as, decreased opioid overdose rates, decreased opioid use, improved…

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Editor's Note This survey of patients' satisfaction with their anesthesiologists found that some factors governing satisfaction are beyond the ability of the anesthesiologist to control. Of 629,220 patients administered the “Anesthesia Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire” 51,676 patients responded for a 9.3% response rate. After multivariate regression analysis, no patient or procedural…

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Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) is a comprehensive, multifaceted, and multidisciplinary approach to the care of the surgical patient. ERAS bundles evidence-based elements to facilitate a faster recovery with fewer complications.1 Spanning the continuum of perioperative care, ERAS elements include: • patient engagement and education • preoperative optimization of nutrition…

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Editor's Note In this study, changing the responsibility for ICU patient transports to the OR from the anesthesia to the ICU services did not change turnover times, but it resulted in more on-time starts and high compliance with preoperative checklist documentation. The crude proportion of on-time starts increased from 32.6%…

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Editor's Note In this study, postoperative delirium in patients averaging 80 years old was linked to long-term detrimental outcomes after major orthopedic surgical procedures. Of 130 patients analyzed, 34 developed postoperative in-hospital delirium. Patients with postoperative delirium had a greater decline in activities of daily living at 2 to 3…

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