Postoperative itching is an important problem in the postoperative care unit. Pruritus after surgery may be drug induced (including intrathecal opioids) or secondary to a preexisting systemic disease. Mechanisms of itching are complex and not completely understood. The purpose of this review is to highlight new discoveries in pathways and mechanisms of pruritus and to summarize up-to-date knowl...

7 January 2014 E has been one of the core missions of the anesthesiology specialty and of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) since the early days of postgraduate medical education. From the first public demonstration of the use of ether,1 the specialty has been at the forefront of education with innovation such as simulation-based training. During this time, continuing medical educ...

Airway management is one of the most important tasks for anesthesiologists. Anesthesiologists are experts in airway management and have made tremendous contribution to the development of the airway devices. Chinese anesthesiologists have made significant contribution in introducing advanced airway management and developing innovative techniques and devices for airway management in China. This a...

BACKGROUND Anesthesiology is among the medical specialties expected to have physician shortage. With little known about older anesthesiologists' work effort and retirement decision making, the American Society of Anesthesiologists participated in a 2006 national survey of physicians aged 50-79 yr. METHODS Samples of anesthesiologists and other specialists completed a survey of work activities...

BACKGROUND The rate of autopsy in hospital deaths has declined from more than 50% to 2.4% over the past 50 yr. To understand the role of autopsies in anesthesia malpractice claims, we examined 980 closed claims for deaths that occurred in 1990 or later in the American Society of Anesthesiologists Closed Claims Project Database. METHODS Deaths with autopsy were compared with deaths without aut...

Sedation is required to treat an ever increasing number of patients for medical diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, in particular in gastrointestinal endoscopy. Due to the apparent ease of administration of sedative techniques, and due to the shortage of anesthetic staff in many Western countries, sedation is being carried out more and more frequently by non-anesthesiologist doctors or even p...

Sedation is required to treat an ever increasing number of patients for medical diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, in particular in gastrointestinal endoscopy. Due to the apparent ease of administration of sedative techniques, and due to the shortage of anesthetic staff in many Western countries, sedation is being carried out more and more frequently by non-anesthesiologist doctors or even p...

We investigated the effect of lidocaine on the incidence of cognitive dysfunction in the early postoperative period after cardiac surgery. One-hundred-eighteen patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) were randomized to receive either lidocaine (1.5 mg/kg bolus followed by a 4 mg/min infusion during operation and 4 mg/kg in the priming soluti...

Although estimates of anesthesia-related deaths today are as low as 1 in 200,000 to 300,000 cases, questions remain about surgical patients' safety related to types of anesthesia providers. We studied the effect of type of anesthesia provider on mortality rates of Medicare patients undergoing 8 different surgical procedures. Risk-adjusted mortality rates were analyzed for 404,194 inpatients und...

BACKGROUND Categorizing difficulties anesthesiologists have in obtaining informed consent may influence education, performance, and research. This study investigated the trainees' perspectives and educational needs through a qualitative analysis of narratives. METHODS The Program to Enhance Relational and Communication Skills-Anesthesia used professional actors to teach communication skills a...