Editor's Note For Pain Awareness Month, the American College of Surgeons (ACS), on September 6, shared three tips for managing pain after surgery. Jonah J. Stulberg, MD, PhD, MPH, FACS, a member of the ACS Patient Education Committee and vice chair of research for the department of surgery at UT…
Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic examines the association between postoperative mobilization after major elective surgery and a composite of primary postoperative outcomes (ie, myocardial injury, ileus, stroke, venous thromboembolism, pulmonary complications, and all-cause in-hospital mortality) and secondary outcomes (ie, hospital length of stay, cumulative…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
May 2022 saw a critical shortage of the iodinated contrast medium (ICM) iohexol that extended well into June because of a COVID-19-related shutdown of a GE Healthcare plant in Shanghai, China, that interrupted the manufacture of ICM. According to the American College of Radiology, contrast media were added to the…
Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) announced on March 8 that it had joined with 14 leading medical specialty organizations to establish seven guiding principles to address the treatment of acute perioperative pain in complex surgical patients. The new principles were developed during a second landmark pain summit…
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…