Editor's Note The American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) on March 19 expressed strong opposition to the decision by insurer Anthem, Inc, that ophthalmologists assume responsibility for the administration of anesthesia and patient monitoring during cataract procedures. “Ophthalmologists are no more qualified to administer anesthesia than CRNAs are to perform…

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Editor's Note Standardizing clinical processes for outpatient hernia repairs reduced postoperative pain and unplanned returns to the emergency department (ED), finds this study presented October 23 at the American College of Surgeons 2017 Clinical Congress in San Diego. Researchers developed a standardized eight-step protocol that incorporated best practices and enhanced…

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Editor's Note Children with multiple exposures to anesthesia before age 3 are more likely to develop adverse outcomes related to learning and attention, this study finds. Of 116 multiply exposed, 457 singly exposed, and 463 unexposed children included in the analysis, multiple, but not single, anesthesia exposures were associated with…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 27 issued a Safety Alert saying the agency had approved label changes on the use of general anesthetic and sedation drugs in children younger than 3 years. The changes include: A new warning that exposure to these drugs for lengthy…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 14 issued a new warning saying that repeated or lengthy use of general anesthetics and sedation drugs during surgical procedures in children younger than 3 years or pregnant women during the third trimester may affect the development of children’s brains.…

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Editor's Note The use of moderate sedation leads to better outcomes than general anesthesia for patients having transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), finds a study presented May 6 at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. Of 10,997 patients included in the study, 1,737 received…

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Editor's Note The amount of propofol required for general anesthesia varies widely among patients, and some may be able to receive a lower dose than usually administered, according to a study presented at the Anesthesiology 2015 annual meeting in San Diego. The amount of propofol required to produce unconsciousness was…

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Editor's Note SmartTots on October 13 released an updated “Consensus Statement On the Use of Anesthetic and Sedative Drugs in Infants and Toddlers.” There is growing evidence from animal studies and observational studies in humans suggesting that adverse effects on behavior, learning, and memory may result from exposure to anesthetics…

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Who should be giving sedation to low-risk patients having colonoscopies and upper GI endoscopies? This question may get a new look with a large new study in the March 21, 2012, JAMA. Researchers found use of anesthesia services for these cases has more than doubled over 7 years, jumping from…

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Capnography—is it the standard of care for patients having moderate sedation? Should capnographic monitoring be added for procedures performed under moderate sedation in areas like the preop holding area, GI endoscopy unit, and cath lab? The issue is generating discussion following an update in the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)…

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