Studies

According to an article from HealthDay News, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists do not need to be supervised during procedures.  A recent study showed that patients were not at greater risk for complications or death from anesthesia when CRNAs performed the work unsupervised by a anesthesiologist or surgeon.  Read more here:  Certified Nurse Anesthetists Can Safely Go Solo, [...]

AS REPORTED IN OUTPATIENT SURGERY: Study Shows Benefits of Ultrasound-Guided Nerve Blocks Ultrasound guidance improves the accuracy of identifying anesthetic spread when placing peripheral nerve blocks and reduces the incidence of block-related complications, according to new research. Physicians at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada, assessed the abilities of 8 anesthesia residents and [...]

A recent article in Outpatient Surgery explains the findings of a study published in the latest issue of the journal Anesthesiology.  In 3,081 patients in Taiwan who underwent total knee or hip replacement surgeries, the likelihood of developing an SSI 30 days after surgery was 2.2 times greater for those who had general anesthesia than for those who had [...]

Studies show that biopsies using percutaneous needles are a growing practice.  Read the following article for more information. Use of Percutaneous Needle Biopsies Continues to Grow  

Patients aren’t necessarily getting the pain management they need or deserve due to physicians’ fear of prescription drug abuse or lack of information about new types of treatment for pain. Kathryn Hahn, chair of the Oregon Pain Management Commission, says that adequate pain treatment has always been a concern. Patients are encouraged to be more [...]

A recent study of Medicare patients suggests that chronic back pain is being treated with expensive and complex spinal fusion surgeries that can often lead to complications, which makes the endeavor even costlier.  Read the entire article on the study here.

Swedish researchers have developed a blood test that can predict the likelihood of developing rheumatoid arthritis.  The test measures cytokines and chemokines, which increase significantly in the years prior to the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. People identified with the risk of developing the disease can receive early treatment and lead active lifestyles, which decreases the [...]

New research shows that the core needle biopsy procedure is as effective in diagnosing breast cancer as open surgical procedure.  Fewer complications arise with core needle biopsy, which is less invasive.  Also, women who received their diagnosis after having had the core needle biopsy were “more likely to be treated with just one surgical procedure. [...]

A technique that may lower side effects and improve patient satisfaction during continuous nerve blocks is discussed in the recent issue of Journal of Anesthesia.  The procedure is reported to “…provide better analgesia and motor function for lower-extremity pain.”  To read the abstract, click here.

A recent JAMA study reveals that two of three older adults experience chronic pain, and that chronic pain may be more hazardous than previously thought.  Pain is not considered a normal part of the aging process, but is found to be undertreated.  To learn more, click here.