Here are ten recent findings from anesthesia studies and statements published in various journals and news sources.
1. Melatonin can relieve surgical pain in children. University of California Irvine researcher Zeev Kain, MD, tested 148 children between two and eight years old and found that melatonin significantly reduced delirium levels. The children took the melatonin half an hour before surgery in the form of a syrup or oral supplement. He says melatonin could be greatly beneficial for the "certain percentage of kids that cry, flail and scream after surgery," according to the report.
2. Regional anesthesia trumps general anesthesia in arteriovenous fistula patients. In arteriovenous fistula surgery, patients treated with regional anesthesia may experience less pain and need fewer opioids than those treated with general anesthesia, according to an ongoing study by Duke University School of Medicine. The study found AVF patients who received regional anesthesia reported lower early postoperative pain scores and a lower intra and postoperative opioid requirement than patients who received general anesthesia.
3. 50 percent of pediatric patient parents do not understand the risks or benefits of anesthesia. Disclosure of anesthesia information to parents of pediatric patients is often incomplete, and parents' recall of information is poor, according to a study led by Alan R. Tait, PhD, of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan. Dr. Tait recruited parents of children undergoing a variety of elective surgical procedures. The parents were recruited while their child was in surgery and were interviewed to determine their recall of their child's anesthetic plan, postoperative pain management and attendant risks and benefits. Fifty percent of parents had no recall of the risks of anesthesia, and 55.7 percent had no recall of the benefits.
4. Warming local anesthetics reduces injection pain. A study authored by Anna Taddio, MD, of the University of Toronto and colleagues reviewed data on 831 patients in 18 studies and found that warming injections produced a "clinically meaningful reduction in pain." The reduction did not differ depending on the amount of anesthetic injected. Warming local anesthetics reduced pain by 11 mm on a 100 mm scale on average.
5. Modified disposable laryngeal mask airway performs better than classic model. The modified disposable laryngeal mask airway (OPLAC) performed better than the LMA Classic model in a study led by anesthesiologists at China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan. The study was a randomized, single-blinded, crossover study involving 60 paralyzed, anesthetized adult patients. The success rate of placement on the first attempt was high for both devices, according to the study's abstract. However, the OPLAC required less insertion time, had less variation on insertion time, fit better into the laryngopharynx and was less likely to cause gastric insufflations.
6. Epidrum device improves epidural space identification for novice providers. Epidrum, a device designed to refine identification of the epidural space, significantly increased success rates of epidural identification for inexperienced operators, according to a study presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
7. Global anesthesia and respiratory devices market will be worth $12.7B in 2015. The total global anesthesia and respiratory devices market is expected to be worth $12.7 billion by 2015, out of which GE Healthcare will account for nearly 12 percent of the total revenues. The global market is expected to record a CAGR of 9.2 percent from 2010 to 2015.
8. Biomedical departments and anesthesia staff can maintain anesthesia machines. Leaders from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation expressed disappointment at an article that asserted anesthesia machines can only be maintained and repaired by "highly qualified medical service companies." The leaders believe anesthesia machines can be maintained and repaired by in-house biomedical departments or anesthesia staff.
9. Patients are often confused about the role of an anesthesiologist. Results of an American Medical Association survey indicated many patients are confused and lack an understanding of the role of a physician anaesthesiologist. Twenty percent of respondents did not know an anesthesiologist is a medical doctor.
10. Nitrous oxide for general anesthesia increases heart attack risk. A study from Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia warned that patients receiving nitrous oxide as part of general anesthesia for surgery may be at increased long-term risk of heart attacks. The study found no increased risk of death among patients receiving nitrous oxide.
1. Melatonin can relieve surgical pain in children. University of California Irvine researcher Zeev Kain, MD, tested 148 children between two and eight years old and found that melatonin significantly reduced delirium levels. The children took the melatonin half an hour before surgery in the form of a syrup or oral supplement. He says melatonin could be greatly beneficial for the "certain percentage of kids that cry, flail and scream after surgery," according to the report.
2. Regional anesthesia trumps general anesthesia in arteriovenous fistula patients. In arteriovenous fistula surgery, patients treated with regional anesthesia may experience less pain and need fewer opioids than those treated with general anesthesia, according to an ongoing study by Duke University School of Medicine. The study found AVF patients who received regional anesthesia reported lower early postoperative pain scores and a lower intra and postoperative opioid requirement than patients who received general anesthesia.
3. 50 percent of pediatric patient parents do not understand the risks or benefits of anesthesia. Disclosure of anesthesia information to parents of pediatric patients is often incomplete, and parents' recall of information is poor, according to a study led by Alan R. Tait, PhD, of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan. Dr. Tait recruited parents of children undergoing a variety of elective surgical procedures. The parents were recruited while their child was in surgery and were interviewed to determine their recall of their child's anesthetic plan, postoperative pain management and attendant risks and benefits. Fifty percent of parents had no recall of the risks of anesthesia, and 55.7 percent had no recall of the benefits.
4. Warming local anesthetics reduces injection pain. A study authored by Anna Taddio, MD, of the University of Toronto and colleagues reviewed data on 831 patients in 18 studies and found that warming injections produced a "clinically meaningful reduction in pain." The reduction did not differ depending on the amount of anesthetic injected. Warming local anesthetics reduced pain by 11 mm on a 100 mm scale on average.
5. Modified disposable laryngeal mask airway performs better than classic model. The modified disposable laryngeal mask airway (OPLAC) performed better than the LMA Classic model in a study led by anesthesiologists at China Medical University Hospital in Taiwan. The study was a randomized, single-blinded, crossover study involving 60 paralyzed, anesthetized adult patients. The success rate of placement on the first attempt was high for both devices, according to the study's abstract. However, the OPLAC required less insertion time, had less variation on insertion time, fit better into the laryngopharynx and was less likely to cause gastric insufflations.
6. Epidrum device improves epidural space identification for novice providers. Epidrum, a device designed to refine identification of the epidural space, significantly increased success rates of epidural identification for inexperienced operators, according to a study presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.
7. Global anesthesia and respiratory devices market will be worth $12.7B in 2015. The total global anesthesia and respiratory devices market is expected to be worth $12.7 billion by 2015, out of which GE Healthcare will account for nearly 12 percent of the total revenues. The global market is expected to record a CAGR of 9.2 percent from 2010 to 2015.
8. Biomedical departments and anesthesia staff can maintain anesthesia machines. Leaders from the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation expressed disappointment at an article that asserted anesthesia machines can only be maintained and repaired by "highly qualified medical service companies." The leaders believe anesthesia machines can be maintained and repaired by in-house biomedical departments or anesthesia staff.
9. Patients are often confused about the role of an anesthesiologist. Results of an American Medical Association survey indicated many patients are confused and lack an understanding of the role of a physician anaesthesiologist. Twenty percent of respondents did not know an anesthesiologist is a medical doctor.
10. Nitrous oxide for general anesthesia increases heart attack risk. A study from Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia warned that patients receiving nitrous oxide as part of general anesthesia for surgery may be at increased long-term risk of heart attacks. The study found no increased risk of death among patients receiving nitrous oxide.