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, Study Suggests

AS REPORTED IN OUTPATIENT SURGERY:

Study Shows Benefits of Ultrasound-Guided Nerve Blocks

Physicians at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada, assessed the abilities of 8 anesthesia residents and fellows and 12 staff anesthesiologists to recognize the spread of a simulated local injection around raisin targets embedded in a semi-opaque gelatin model.

The study’s participants were instructed to place a 22-gauge nerve block needle next to the model’s target structures using ultrasound guidance. After placement, the participants notified a research assistant, who either injected 1mL of water or made no injection at all. The participants were then asked to confirm or deny that the injection took place.

The study, published in the July issue of the journal Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, showed that residents and fellows correctly identified the injection’s spread – or lack of spread – 91% of the time, while staff anesthesiologists demonstrated a 93% accuracy rate.

Colin McCartney, MD, a Sunnybrook anesthesiologist and the study’s lead investigator, says that ultrasound is an easy way for anesthesia providers to determine that local anesthetic spread occurs in the correct place.

“This is tremendously important as failure to ensure the correct spread can lead to intravenous injection of local anesthetic with convulsions and cardiac arrest in patients,” he says. Other advantages of using ultrasound guidance during regional anesthesia include reducing PONV and faster post-op discharges.

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 an epidural or spinal anesthesia.

Read more in Outpatient Surgery.

Studies show that biopsies using percutaneous needles are a growing practice.  Read the following article for more information.

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 informed and advocate for the care they need.

For more information on this subject, click here.

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 likelihood of joint damage that leads to joint replacement.

The findings appear in the recent issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

For more info, click here.

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.

The study will be published in the January 5th issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.  To read more, click here.

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.