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Will the electronic stethoscope replace use of a standard stethoscope in the operating room?

August 28, 2013 By J. Lance Lichtor in Technology, Computing, and Simulation

Anesthesiologists are known to wear stethoscopes around their neck. We use the stethoscope to make sure breath sounds are equal after a patient’s trachea has been intubated, to check lung physiology during anesthesia, and occasionally place the stethoscope earpiece on the ears of deaf patients and speak into the bell to amplify our own voices […]

Aromatherapy may have a role in treating postoperative nausea

August 26, 2013 By J. Lance Lichtor in Ambulatory Anesthesiology

A lot has been written about postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Treatment for PONV usually is accomplished with a drug that can be injected intravenously, administered orally, or, when all else fails, given rectally. Somehow the nose doesn’t seem like an appropriate orifice for treatment of PONV. However, the nose is the only option for […]

A licorice solution can help prevent postoperative sore throat

August 23, 2013 By J. Lance Lichtor in Ambulatory Anesthesiology

Common side effects after anesthesia include postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), sore throat, shivering and headache. Postoperative nausea and vomiting gets the most press: It’s listed as a specific MeSH® (Medical Subject Headings), and over 2500 manuscripts use PONV as a MeSH term compared to fewer than 600 articles where MeSH terms include sore throat […]

September 2013: Anesthesia & Analgesia

August 21, 2013 By Steven Shafer in Audio, This issue

The September 2013 issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia has posted. What follows are some highlights from the issue. Despite intraoperative antiemetics, some patients have refractory postoperative nausea and vomiting. Dabu-Bondoc and colleagues (“Intravenous Dextrose Administration Reduces Postoperative Antiemetic Rescue Treatment Requirements and Postanesthesia Care Unit Length of Stay”) found that patients receiving intravenous dextrose (D5LR) during […]

The Nexfin is an non-invasive monitor of of cardiac output. Does it work? How does it compare to thermodilution measured using a pulmonary artery catheter?

August 16, 2013 By J. Lance Lichtor in Audio, Technology, Computing, and Simulation

Cardiac output is classically measured using thermodilution, which requires a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC). Pulmonary artery catheters are invasive and, as highlighted in 2 posts last month on AA2day (post 1; post 2), have multiple risks. The Nexfin determines cardiac output by analyzing the arterial pulse contour using an inflatable finger cuff. In the article “Noninvasive […]

Use caution when placing a magnet to pacemakers or defibrillators before surgery

August 14, 2013 By J. Lance Lichtor in Audio, Patient Safety

The American Society of Anesthesiologists advises against the routine use of a magnet over an implantable cardioverter-debrillator or pacemaker in its 2011 Practice Advisory for cardiac implantable external devices (CIEDs). Instead, the ASA advice is to interrogate the device to assess function. In this month’s issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, the article “Use Caution When […]