The 2012 BJA/PGA supplement: a selection of seven educational reviews.

As one of the largest international gatherings of anaesthesiologists, the PostGraduate Assembly (PGA) of the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists is committed to innovative approaches to ongoing education. Based on its commitment to continuing learning and the success of prior supplements, the PGA has again joined with the British Journal of Anaesthesia (BJA) to produce a special BJA/PGA supplement based on a selection of clinically relevant lectures from PGA66 held in New York City, December 14–18, 2012. The PGA ranks as the premiere international annual meeting with more than 6000 attendees, of whom more than 30% are from outside the USA. This collaborative international project thus represents an opportunity to enhance the educational missions of both the PGA and the BJA. A new feature this year is the sponsorship of a Scientific Panel by the BJA. The inaugural panel this year is on Innovations in Airway Management, moderated by Tim Cook MB, BS, who has also contributed a review to this supplement. The BJA, published since 1923, has the second highest Impact Factor of all anaesthesia journals, and a global distribution to more than 14 000 subscribers in 50 countries worldwide. The BJA publishes clinical and laboratory studies with around 11% of submissions from North America. Online usage is global, with more than one-third coming from North America. The BJA, in addition to publishing cutting-edge research, has a strong interest in Continuing Medical Education (CME) and each issue contains one or two review articles that have CME questions online at http://bja.oxfordjournals.org. This common ground between the NYSSA PGA and the BJA of providing high-quality clinical updates and education further strengthens our association. The seven educational review articles for the 2012 BJA/PGA supplement, selected from the extensive programme offered at the PGA to complement recent publications in the BJA, are presented by respected experts in the subspecialities of anaesthesiology, pain, and critical care. These topical review articles offer the reader a spectrum of clinical topics and acceptable practices, and will also be available free to meeting attendees and regular subscribers on the BJA website (http:// bja.oxfordjournals.org) along with the regular monthly journal content. The following contributors to the PGA have kindly agreed to provide a detailed review of their lectures to supplement their oral presentations (the relevant lectures are indicated by the BJA logo in the PGA Program). There are three reviews on clinical practice. Sevdalis and colleagues provide a timely review on improving communication and safety in the operating theatre. Heaney and Buggy review the complex interactions between anaesthesia technique, surgery, and tumour progression and metastasis. And Karkouti discusses the influences of anaemia and red blood cell transfusion on acute renal failure after cardiopulmonary bypass. A review in the critical care section by Dutton provides an update on recent progress in haemostatic resuscitation in trauma and massive blood loss. Two reviews highlight paediatric topics. Lauer and colleagues discuss the Volume 109, Number S1, December 2012