Anesthesiology News Presents

The Los Angeles wildfires have destroyed thousands of homes and stores, and left entire communities in ash and rubble. And while lives have already been lost, experts are now discussing the long-term health impact for those who lived or worked in the area.

"The general practitioners, the anesthesiologists, the entire medical community needs to be educated in occupational medicine and the lessons that we've learned in occupational me...

The number of senior citizens is growing rapidly; individuals aged 65 and older increased from 39.6 million in 2009 to 54.1 million in 2019 (a 36% increase) and is projected to reach 94.7 million by 2060. However, over the last few years, the usual respect and care of our aging population is decaying into a growing incidence of neglect and abuse.

Prior to  COVID-19, one in 10 elderly adults in the U.S. experienced elder abuse. A ma...

There has been a marked increase in mass casualty events in our society. Targets have included schools, malls, houses of worship, and yes, hospitals. Our staffing crisis unfortunately has negatively affected even our most robust trauma system and emergency rooms; there has also been the closure of many hospitals in rural areas, which has created healthcare deserts. The inability of many towns and small cities to care for “terror ev...

The American healthcare system is experiencing a growing crisis: How do we adequately staff our operating rooms, hospitals, clinics and offices with healthcare professionals? The lack of staff crosses all professional lines, from physicians to nurses to lab technologists—all levels of staff are in short supply. To deal with this challenge, health administrators have resorted to using temporary contract workers known as locums. Thes...

At the 2023 spring meeting of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Rajnish Gupta, MD, a professor of anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville, Tenn., discusses how podcasting can be a way for anesthesiologists to highlight their academic work and communicate with other like-minded professionals in the specialty.

“The beauty of podcasting is that it allows the speaker to talk on ...

Barbara Orlando, MD, PhD, an associate professor of anesthesiology and the division chief of obstetric anesthesiology at McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center, in Houston, discusses several ways to reduce morbidity and mortality in pregnant patients. She also addresses high-risk pregnant patients with various comorbidities, such as obesity and those with a lack of prenatal care.

“This podcast is ab...

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 20% of U.S. adults, of whom about 90% are undiagnosed. The major risk factors for OSA include obesity, male sex and a family history of OSA. There is a large body of literature showing that OSA is an independent risk factor for hypertension, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke.  This case illustrates how a patient presented for elective admission for surgery and suffered a stroke.  

A 55-y...

Cancer is a major global public health concern that affects all citizens and communities around the world. Globally, the incidence of cancer is predicted to increase by 50% by the year 2030; and during the same period, cancer-related mortality is projected to increase by 60% to 13.1 million deaths worldwide. This increasing trend in cancer-related mortality exists despite a slow but steady decline in cancer-related death rates sinc...

Neil Ratner, MD, has played remarkably divergent roles in his life, initially as a rock-and-roll drummer and staging entrepreneur, working with the likes of Edgar Winter and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. But he always had an interest in medicine, so eventually he ditched his successful rock career and went to medical school, later becoming an anesthesiologist who embraced the then-novel concept of delivering non-OR anesthesia, which he h...

The Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division is warning local residents of a dangerous new drug emerging in the D.C. area that is as deadly as fentanyl. We as neurocritical care practitioners may therefore soon find ourselves caring for patients that have overdosed on this drug and may be suffering from severe hypoxic injury and coma.

In the fall of 2019, a new synthetic opioid named isotonitazene made its debut in the U...

Over the past two years, Saddleback Hospital, in Laguna Hills, Calif., has implemented a robust ERAC (early recovery after cesarean) protocol that includes a transversus abdominis plane block with liposomal bupivacaine for post-op cesarean delivery pain. Results have shown that the protocol has reduced the use of narcotics for the post-op period by 80%, and has improved the overall satisfaction with the post-op period considerably ...

In the previous chapters of “Anesthesiology News Presents The Etherist,” we defined just what physician well-being is, when it came to light and why the concept needs to be addressed at institutional and systemwide levels. We also explored managing the cognitive workload during residency, the stress of working during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the unexpected toll that burnout can leave behind.

And now, for the final episode of the ...

In the second episode of Anesthesiology News presents The Etherist, we discussed some of the main causes and signs of burnout. We also explored what it was like to work during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this installment, we first examine well-being during residency. Managing the cognitive workload and production pressure can be incredibly demanding, even for seasoned doctors. So, without proper guidance and a strong fou...

The season premiere of Anesthesiology News presents The Etherist featured Dr. Amy Vinson, the chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Committee on Physician Well-Being. Among many other things, she explained why physician well-being needs to be addressed at an institutional and systemwide level. In this episode, we delve deeper into working during the COVID-19 pandemic, the unexpected toll burnout can leave behind and wh...

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, anesthesiologists are being asked to do more than ever with less. Staffing shortages, supply chain issues, administrative burdens, regulatory compliance and unpredictable work hours continue to plague the field and contribute to burnout. This is a universal problem, and these are symptoms of a work environment that’s not conducive to sustainability.

Although “burnout” has historically been defin...

In this new season of “Anesthesiology News presents The Etherist,” we’re going to examine a topic that’s both spoken about not enough and too much — physician well-being. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, anesthesiologists are being asked to do more than ever with less. Staffing shortages, supply chain issues, administrative burdens, regulatory compliance and unpredictable work hours continue to plague the field and contribute ...

In this episode of “Ask the Experts,” Rita Agarwal, MD, joins the show to discuss the efforts in California to pass legislation to change anesthesia delivery in pediatric dental anesthesia cases. Agrawal has played an important role in advising and promoting the need for improved practices in the state, especially when it comes to the sole-operator model of anesthesia delivery.

Agarwal is a clinical professor of anesthesiology at St...

In this episode of “Ask the Experts,” we talk with Navin Goyal, MD, a co-founder of OFFOR Health, and Saket Agrawal, the CEO of OFFOR Health, about their company’s success in building a mobile anesthesia service aimed at providing office-based anesthesia for dental procedures.

Goyal is an anesthesiologist from Columbus, Ohio. He started OFFOR Health to address the problems with patient access to anesthesia care in his community. Agr...