The second largest contingent of participants in the event’s history got up before the sun to participate in the 2015 ASA Run for the Warriors® 5K — at the very same place the run/walk began six years ago. A total of 551 individuals registered, second only to the 569 counted in Washington, D.C., in 2013.
October 26
Marx Lecture: Communication key to reducing errors
Using large doses of humor and real examples of O.R.-related mistakes, David J. Birnbach, M.D., M.P.H., made the case that health care professionals need to greatly improve communication to reduce errors when he delivered the SOAP/FAER Gertie Marx Plenary Lecture Sunday.
Wright Lecture: Anesthesia and the potential for cognitive dysfunction
Three months after surgery with general anesthesia, between 10 and 15 percent of patients may have cognitive deficits. The first paper linking anesthesia and cognitive disorders was published in 1887, but physician anesthesiologists and surgeons rarely ask about postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD), and patients seldom mention it. A new patient safety initiative focusing on reducing delirium and cognitive disorders following anesthesia addresses 170 years of what is now recognized as POCD.
Discussion looks at options to control PDNV and long QT syndrome
All surgical patients are at risk for postoperative and post-discharge nausea and vomiting (PDNV). Physician anesthesiologists have a wide range of interventions to minimize nausea and vomiting, but many prolong the QT interval.
The great debate: Are physicians and industry allies or adversaries?
One of the great debates in health care was addressed Sunday when two physicians discussed the relationship between physicians and industry during “Commercialism: Conflict of Interest or Critical Ally?”
Question of the Day: ‘What is the most important issue facing anesthesia in the next few years?’
The specialty faces a great many challenges and opportunities now and in the near future. The Daily News asked ASA members to reveal the most pressing issue facing their practice.
Interventional procedures affecting practices, finances of physician anesthesiologists
Advances in technology have moved an increasing number of interventional procedures from the O.R. to other venues, affecting the way anesthesiologists practice and their business plans. Strategies to cope with these changes will be discussed during a session today.
Education, not medicine, can help in treating abdominal pain
Abnormal physiology, not anatomy, may be the cause of chronic abdominal pain, a condition known as functional abdominal pain that needs to be treated with patient education in the form of “mental rehabilitation,” not with medication.
‘Weaponization’ session to examine how good is used in negative ways
“The Weaponization of Medical Infrastructure” may be the most intriguing title of any session at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2015 annual meeting, and it promises to be an interesting look at how positive ideas could have negative effects.
Attention to fundamentals key in stopping acute kidney injury
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is one of the greatest dangers in the perioperative environment. When it occurs on top of another organ failure, mortality is 70 percent, and even a mild AKI without other organ failure increases the risk of death by sixfold to eightfold.