Anesthesiology Commons^™

Initiatives In Anesthesia Workspace Hygiene During Covid-19: The Gray Airway Basin And The Epic Hand Hygiene Event, Anna Rabinowitz, Kent Berg, Daniel Casey, Dietrich Gravenstein

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

What’s the Problem?

The COVID-19 Pandemic has highlighted the need for anesthesia providers to decrease workspace contamination, particularly during and after airway management.

Delineation of “clean” and “dirty” spaces in the anesthesia workplace has been historically challenging, but the heightened awareness of microbial contamination presents a new opportunity to effect behavioral change among staff.

Anesthesiologist-Led Covid-19 Airway Training Skills Session To Teach Novel Team Approach And Workflow, Anna Rabinowitz, Daniel Casey, Elaine Kilmartin

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

What’s the Problem?

Intubation is an aerosol-generating procedure that poses a significant infectious risk to the operator in the COVID-19 era, where the volume of intubations was expected to increase dramatically. Following national anesthesia societal and organizational recommendations regarding best practices to decrease risk of viral transmission, a new 3-person airway team approach was developed. Additions to the preexisting airway management workflow included an aerosol-containing intubation shield, a new breathing circuit configuration incorporating HEPA filtration, and the use of unfamiliar PPE, all of which required mastery of a complex sequence of events surrounding the patient encounter. This high-stakes workflow was …

Development And Implementation Of A Covid-19 Specific Peri-Operative Workflow For Anesthesia Providers, Alexander Olson, David Maguire, David Gratch, Dietrich Gravenstein, Michael Mahla, Anna Rabinowitz

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

What's the Problem?

• Needed to develop and clarify the use of PPE in the COVID-19 era
• New considerations for infection control in OR
• Unique airway equipment and filter placement considerations
• Potential shortages of equipment and medications, need for conservation
• Need to incorporate human factors principles into protocol release and procedural compliance

We realized that there was no standard protocol for these functions existing in a visually compelling graphic form for wide distribution throughout anesthesia care areas, and sought to create one.

Postoperative Delirium After Major Orthopedic Surgery., Michael K. Urban, Mayu Sasaki, Abigail M. Schmucker, Steven K. Magid

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

BACKGROUND: Postoperative delirium (POD) is one of the most common complications in older adult patients undergoing elective surgery. Few studies have compared, within the same institution, the type of surgery, risk factors and type of anesthesia and analgesia associated with the development of POD.

AIM: To investigate the following three questions: (1) What is the incidence of POD after non-ambulatory orthopedic surgery at a high-volume orthopedic specialty hospital? (2) Does surgical procedure influence incidence of POD after non-ambulatory orthopedic surgery? And (3) For POD after non-ambulatory orthopedic surgery, what are modifiable risk factors?

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted …

Adverse Drug Effects Related To Multiday Ketamine Infusions: Multicenter Study., Andrew M. Mendelson, Lynn Kohan, Joseph Okai, Mariam Wanees, Joseph C. Gonnella, Marc C. Torjman, Eugene R. Viscusi, Eric S. Schwenk

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Anesthesia For The Patient With A Recently Diagnosed Concussion: Think About The Brain!, Mohammed R. Rasouli, Michelle Kavin, Stephen Stache, Michael E. Mahla, Eric S. Schwenk

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

Some patients require emergent, urgent, or elective surgery in the time period immediately following diagnosis of concussion. However, changes in brain homeostatic mechanisms following a concussion and concern for secondary brain injury can complicate the decision as to whether or not a surgery should proceed or be postponed. Given the paucity of available evidence, further evaluation of the use of anesthesia in a patient with concussion is warranted. This article summarizes what is currently known about the relevant pathophysiology of concussion, intraoperative anesthesia considerations, and effects of anesthesia on concussion outcomes in an attempt to help providers understand the risks …

Sevoflurane Pre-Conditioning Ameliorates Diabetic Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury Via Differential Regulation Of P38 And Erk., Dina Xie, Jianli Zhao, Rui Guo, Liyuan Jiao, Yanqing Zhang, Wayne Bond Lau, Bernard Lopez, Theodore Christopher, Erhe Gao, Jimin Cao, Xin-Liang Ma, Yajing Wang

Department of Emergency Medicine Faculty Papers

Diabetes mellitus (DM) significantly increases myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (MI/R) injury. During DM, cardioprotection induced by conventional pre-conditioning (PreCon) is decreased due to impaired AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling. The current study investigated whether PreCon with inhaled anesthetic sevoflurane (SF-PreCon) remains cardioprotective during DM, and identified the involved mechanisms. Normal diet (ND) and high-fat diet (HFD)-induced DM mice were randomized into control and SF-PreCon (3 cycles of 15-minute period exposures to 2% sevoflurane) groups before MI/R. SF-PreCon markedly reduced MI/R injury in DM mice, as evidenced by improved cardiac function (increased LVEF and ±Dp/dt), decreased infarct size, and decreased apoptosis. To determine …

Endoscopic Rhizotomy For Chronic Lumbar Zygapophysial Joint Pain., Yuntao Xue, Tao Ding, Dajie Wang, Jianli Zhao, Huilin Yang, Xiaofeng Gu, Dehong Feng, Yafeng Zhang, Hao Liu, Fenglin Tang, Wanyi Wang, Miao Lu, Chao Wu

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Chronic lumbar zygapophysial joint pain is a common cause of chronic low back pain. Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is one of the effective management options; however, the results from the traditional RFA need to be improved in certain cases. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation under endoscopic guidance (ERFA) for chronic low back pain secondary to facet joint arthritis.

METHODS: This is a prospective study enrolled 60 patients. The cases were randomized into two groups: 30 patients in the control group underwent traditional percutaneous radiofrequency ablation, others underwent ERFA. The lumbar …

Transdermal Lidocaine For Perioperative Pain: A Systematic Review Of The Literature, Alexa Cohen, Jordan Smoker, Mohammad R. Rasouli, Eric S. Schwenk

Phase 1

Introduction: Recent data have shown that the risk of taking chronic opioids after surgery increases after about 5 days of postoperative opioid therapy. Alternatives to opioids are desirable, and transdermal lidocaine is one such perioperative multimodal agent. This review provides a summary of the perioperative studies that have examined transdermal lidocaine as an analgesic in the perioperative period.

Methods: We conducted searches of PubMed and Scopus databases. Studies involving patients who were undergoing surgery and were given either transdermal lidocaine, placebo, or active comparator in the perioperative period with the primary endpoint of improvement in pain were included in …

Device For The Capture And Extraction Of Waste Anesthetic Gas, Jonathan Karp, Cary Hess, Delara Kiani, Corey Jameson, Robert S. Pugliese, Michael E. Mahla, Dietrich Gravenstein, Mary Herman

Phase 1

Background: Leaks occur often throughout the process of delivering inhaled anesthesia prior to and during surgery. Leaks typically occur around the patient’s mouth, nose, and eyes. Potent inhaled anesthetics (PIAs) include halothane, sevoflurane, desflurane, and isoflurane. All PIAs, to one degree or another, pose hazards to human health. PIAs are associated with reproductive toxicity, spontaneous miscarriages in pregnant persons as well as an increased risk of congenital abnormalities in offspring. In other words, PIAs are thought to be both abortifacients as well as teratogens. PIAs are also associated with hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, cognitive impairment, as well as increased incidence of malignancy. …

Scavenger Of Waste Anesthetic, Cary Hess, Jonathan Karp, Delara Kiani, Corey Jameson, Michael E. Mahla, Mary Herman, Dietrich Gravenstein, Robert S. Pugliese

Phase 1

Waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) are associated with spontaneous miscarriages in pregnant persons, an increased risk of congenital abnormalities, hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and cognitive impairment. Through monitoring anesthesiologists we found levels of WAGs to be 5-10x the current standard inside the OR. Currently, no solutions exist for the mitigation of WAG release. Remora is a solution to removing WAGs that fits on top of existing anesthesia masks. A flexible skirt is joined to a rigid ring, which deforms under hand pressure to facilitate effective hand-to-mask placement. The suction system is plugged into an unused suction port to create an area under the …

Assessment Of A Wearable Device For Minute Ventilation In Detecting Different States Of Ventilation, Michael Morano, Yash Patel, Marc J. Torjman, Phd, Indupriya Eedara, Ms, Moeness Amin, Phd, Channy Loeum, Jeffrey Joseph, Do

Phase 1

Introduction: Minute ventilation (MV) and breathing status are valuable vital signs to measure in patients clinically such as in detecting opioid induced respiratory depression. However, there are few devices capable of continuously monitoring MV in an accurate fashion. RTM Vital Signs, LLC and TJU are developing a non-invasive wearable Tracheal Sound Sensor to determine if a device can accurately and continuously measure respiratory rate (RR), tidal volume (TV), MV, and changes in ventilation patterns based on sound recordings of breathing.

Methods: Tracheal breathing sounds were recorded in six researchers using a prototype sensor placed on the skin above the sternal …

Zero Tolerance – Mitigating The Opioid Epidemic Amongst Minimally Invasive Urologic Patients, Daniella Wong, Thenappan Chandrasekar, Md, Costas Lallas, Md

Phase 1

Introduction: Opioids are routinely prescribed following minimally invasive surgery (MIS), yet the majority of medication remains unused. However, the literature is lacking evidence for non-narcotic analgesia in MIS urologic procedures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a non-narcotic postoperative pain management regimen in reducing opioid use following MIS urologic procedures.

Methods: In this prospective study, 51 MIS urologic patients were recruited over two months. Patients in the first month cohort (P1) were managed with the established pain management standard-of-care, while patients in the second month (P2) followed a non-narcotic postoperative pain management protocol that …

The Effects Of Total Intravenous Versus Inhalational Anesthesia On Fluid Balance For Patients Undergoing Pancreaticoduodenectomy, Jaime Eberle-Singh, David Maguire, Md, Harish Lavu, Md

Phase 1

Introduction: Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD), the most common surgical treatment for pancreatic cancer, is a complex procedure with a morbidity of 45-60%. Recent studies indicate that intraoperative use of total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) may reduce post-operative complications for PD patients, when compared to inhalational anesthesia (INHA). We hypothesized that patients who receive TIVA may have a more favorable fluid balance, which is known to reduce postoperative complications in PD patients.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent PD at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and were administered TIVA or INHA during surgery between April 2017 and January 2019. …

Point-Of-Care Versus Central Testing Of Hemoglobin During Large Volume Blood Transfusion., Justin Herman, Brian Park, Bharat K. Awsare, Frances Mae West, Denine Crittendon, Lilah Evans, Mary Harach, Julie Karp, Alexis R. Peedin, Marianna Lanoue, Barbara Goldsmith, Eugene P. Warnick, Michael Baram

Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care (POC) hemoglobin testing has the potential to revolutionize massive transfusion strategies. No prior studies have compared POC and central laboratory testing of hemoglobin in patients undergoing massive transfusions.

METHODS: We retrospectively compared the results of our point-of-care hemoglobin test (EPOC®) to our core laboratory complete blood count (CBC) hemoglobin test (Sysmex XE-5000™) in patients undergoing massive transfusion protocols (MTP) for hemorrhage. One hundred seventy paired samples from 90 patients for whom MTP was activated were collected at a single, tertiary care hospital between 10/2011 and 10/2017. Patients had both an EPOC® and CBC hemoglobin performed within 30 min …

In Vivo Investigation Of The Tissue Response To Commercial Teflon Insulin Infusion Sets In Large Swine For 14 Days: The Effect Of Angle Of Insertion On Tissue Histology And Insulin Spread Within The Subcutaneous Tissue., Gabriella Eisler, Jasmin R. Kastner, Marc C. Torjman, Abdurizzagh Khalf, David Diaz, Alek R. Dinesen, Channy Loeum, Mathew L. Thakur, Paul Strasma, Jeffrey I. Joseph

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

Objective: This study investigated the effects of the inflammatory tissue response (ITR) to an insulin infusion set (IIS) on insulin bolus spread over wear time, as well as the effect of cannula insertion angle on the ITR, bolus shape, and pump tubing pressure.

Research design and methods: Angled or straight IISs were inserted every other day for 14 days into the subcutaneous tissue of 11 swine and insulin was delivered continuously. Prior to euthanasia, a 70 µL bolus of insulin/X-ray contrast agent was infused while recording a pressure profile (peak tubing pressure, p_max; area under the pressure curve, …

Emergent Airway Management Outside Of The Operating Room - A Retrospective Review Of Patient Characteristics, Complications And Icu Stay., Uzung Yoon, Jeffrey Mojica, Matthew Wiltshire, Kara Segna, Michael Block, Anthony Pantoja, Marc Torjman, Elizabeth Wolo

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Emergent airway management outside of the operating room is a high-risk procedure. Limited data exists about the indication and physiologic state of the patient at the time of intubation, the location in which it occurs, or patient outcomes afterward.

METHODS: We retrospectively collected data on all emergent airway management interventions performed outside of the operating room over a 6-month period. Documentation included intubation performance, and intubation related complications and mortality. Additional information including demographics, ASA-classification, comorbidities, hospital-stay, ICU-stay, and 30-day in-hospital mortality was obtained.

RESULTS: 336 intubations were performed in 275 patients during the six-month period. The majority of …

Operating Room First Case Start Times: A Metric To Assess Systems-Based Practice Milestones?, Christopher Ryan Hoffman, Jay Horrow, Shreyas Ranganna, Michael Stuart Green

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Resident competence in peri-operative care is a reflection on education and cost-efficiency. Inspecting pre-existing operating room metrics for performance outliers may be a potential solution for assessing competence. Statistical correlation of problematic benchmarks may reveal future opportunities for educational intervention.

METHODS: Case-log database review yielded 3071 surgical cases involving residents over the course of 5 years. Surgery anticipated and actual start times were evaluated for delays and residents were assessed using the days of resident training performed at the time of each corresponding case. Other variables recorded included day of week, attending anesthesiologist name, attending surgeon name, patient age, …

Transdermal Lidocaine For Perioperative Pain: A Systematic Review Of The Literature., Jordan Smoker, Alexa Cohen, Mohammad R Rasouli, Eric S. Schwenk

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review is to provide a summary of the perioperative studies that have examined transdermal lidocaine (lidocaine patch) as an analgesic and put the evidence in context of the likely overall benefit of transdermal lidocaine in the perioperative period.

RECENT FINDINGS: Several randomized controlled trials have been published in the past 4 years that concluded transdermal lidocaine can reduce acute pain associated with laparoscopic trocar or cannula insertion. Transdermal lidocaine may reduce short-term pain after surgery in selected surgery types and has a low risk of toxicity but its overall clinical utility in the …

Induction Techniques That Reduce Redistribution Hypothermia: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled, Single Blind Effectiveness Study., Jonathan V. Roth, Leonard E. Braitman, Lacy H. Hunt

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

BACKGROUND: While much effort has been devoted to correcting intraoperative hypothermia, less attention has been directed to preventing redistribution hypothermia. In this study, we compared three different anesthetic induction techniques to standard IV propofol inductions (control) in their effect on reducing redistribution hypothermia.

METHODS: Elective, afebrile patients, age 18 to 55 years, were randomly assigned to one of four groups (n = 50 each). Group "INH/100" was induced with 8% sevoflurane in 100% oxygen, Group "INH/50" with 8% sevoflurane in 50% oxygen and 50% nitrous oxide, Group "PROP" with 2.2 mg/kg propofol, and Group "Phnl/PROP" with 2.2 mg/kg propofol immediately …

Does Perioperative Use Of Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors Improve Patient Outcomes In Cardiac Surgery?, Qian Ding, Mark Berguson, Zugui Zhang, Hong Liu, Huang Nie, Jordan E. Goldhammer, Rohinton J. Morris, Jianzhong Sun

Department of Anesthesiology Posters

• 2011 ACCF/AHA Guidelines for CABG: Uncertain about the safety of the preoperative administration of ACE inhibitors or ARBs in patients on chronic therapy and the safety of initiating ACE inhibitors or ARBs before hospital discharge
• 2014 ESC Guidelines: ACE inhibitors might be stopped 1 to 2 days before CABG to avoid the potential deleterious consequences of perioperative hypotension
• Guidelines state that ACE inhibitors or ARBs should be initiated postoperatively in CABG patients who were not receiving them preoperatively if they have an LVEF ≤40%, hypertension, diabetes, or CKD (Level of Evidence: A)
• There is still a lack of large clinical …

Targeted Epidural Blood Patches Under Fluoroscopic Guidance For Incidental Durotomies Related To Spine Surgeries: A Case Series., Andrew K. Wong, Mohammad Rasouli, Andrew Ng, Dajie Wang

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

Introduction: Incidental durotomies are usually managed conservatively. However, 1.8% of patients require surgical dural repair for CSF leak. There are limited data available regarding the use of epidural blood patches (EBP) for persistent CSF leaks secondary to incidental durotomies. This case series aims to evaluate the efficacy of targeted EBPs under fluoroscopic guidance in the treatment of incidental durotomies.

Methods: Four patients with incidental durotomies after spine surgeries (one cervical decompression, one revision of L5-S1 decompression and fusion, and two lumbar decompressions) were included in this series. These patients did not respond to conservative management and subsequently underwent EBPs. Magnetic …

Teaching An Old Pain Medicine Society New Tweets: Integrating Social Media Into Continuing Medical Education., Kellie M Jaremko, Eric S Schwenk, Amy C S Pearson, Jonathan Hagedorn, Ankeet D Udani, Gary Schwartz, Nabil M Elkassabany, Anne Snively, Edward R Mariano

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

No abstract.

Continuation Of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitors On The Day Of Surgery Is Not Associated With Increased Risk Of Hypotension Upon Induction Of General Anesthesia In Elective Non-Cardiac Surgeries., U. Yoon, A. J. Setren, A. Chen, T. Nguyen, M. C. Torjman, T. L. Kennedy

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Perioperative Use Of Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibitors And Outcomes In Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery., Qian Ding, Zugui Zhang, Hong Liu, Huang Nie, Mark Berguson, Jordan E. Goldhammer, Nilas Young, Douglas Boyd, Rohinton Morris, Jianzhong Sun

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

It remains disputable about perioperative use of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) and their outcome effects. This multicenter retrospective cohort study examines association between use of perioperative RASi and outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft and/or valve surgery. After the exclusion, the patients are divided into 2 groups with or without preoperative RASi (PreRASi, n = 8581), or 2 groups with or without postoperative RASi (PostRASi, n = 8130). With using of propensity scores matching to reduce treatment selection bias, the study shows that PreRASi is associated with a significant reduction in postoperative 30-day mortality compared with without one …

Htx-011 Reduced Pain Intensity And Opioid Consumption Versus Bupivacaine Hcl In Bunionectomy: Phase Iii Results From The Randomized Epoch 1 Study., Eugene R. Viscusi, Joseph S. Gimbel, Richard A. Pollack, Jia Hu, Gwo-Chin Lee

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is a need for local anesthetics that provide consistent analgesia through 72 hours after surgery. This study evaluates the use of HTX-011 (bupivacaine and meloxicam in Biochronomerpolymer technology), an extended-release, dual-acting local anesthetic, in reducing both postoperative pain over 72 hours and postoperative opioid use when compared with bupivacaine hydrochloride (HCl) and saline placebo. Inclusion of low-dose meloxicam in HTX-011 is designed to reduce local inflammation caused by surgery, potentiating the analgesic effect of bupivacaine. Previously, significant synergy has been observed with bupivacaine and meloxicam with both given locally together.

METHODS: EPOCH 1 was a randomized, …

Coaching Operating Room To Pacu Handoff With A Standardized, Multidisciplinary Checklist, Courtney L. Devin, Md, Kathleen Grife, Rn, Ms, Marissa Weber, Md, Richard F. Schmidt, Md, Megan P. Lundgren, Md, Scott W. Cowan, Md

House Staff Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference (2016-2019)

Purpose

To pilot a standardized multidisciplinary bedside handoff for any patient admitted to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) from the operating room.

Special Considerations For Clinical Trials In Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (Fop)., Edward C Hsiao, Maja Di Rocco, Amanda Cali, Michael Zasloff, Mona Al Mukaddam, Robert J Pignolo, Zvi Grunwald, Coen Netelenbos, Richard Keen, Genevieve Baujat, Matthew A Brown, Tae-Joon Cho, Carmen De Cunto, Patricia Delai, Nobuhiko Haga, Rolf Morhart, Christiaan Scott, Keqin Zhang, Robert J Diecidue, Clive S Friedman, Fredrick S Kaplan, Elisabeth M W Eekhoff

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

Clinical trials for orphan diseases are critical for developing effective therapies. One such condition, fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP; MIM#135100), is characterized by progressive heterotopic ossification (HO) that leads to severe disability. Individuals with FOP are extremely sensitive to even minor traumatic events. There has been substantial recent interest in clinical trials for novel and urgently-needed treatments for FOP. The International Clinical Council on FOP (ICC) was established in 2016 to provide consolidated and coordinated advice on the best practices for clinical care and clinical research for individuals who suffer from FOP. The Clinical Trials Committee of the ICC developed a …

Letter To The Editor: Ketamine For Pain Management: Let's Not Neglect Practical Concerns, Steven P. Cohen, Eric S. Schwenk, Eugene R. Viscusi

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

We read with interest the recent article on ketamine by Bell and Kalso.1 In recent years, the use of ketamine to treat chronic pain and depression has exploded, and this article represents an easy-to-follow overview of this often misunderstood medication.

Cuff-Less Methods For Blood Pressure Telemonitoring., Dylan M. Bard, Jeffrey I. Joseph, Noud Van Helmond

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

Blood pressure telemonitoring (BPT) is a telemedicine strategy that uses a patient's self-measured blood pressure (BP) and transmits this information to healthcare providers, typically over the internet. BPT has been shown to improve BP control compared to usual care without remote monitoring. Traditionally, a cuff-based monitor with data communication capabilities has been used for BPT; however, cuff-based measurements are inconvenient and cause discomfort, which has prevented the widespread use of cuff-based monitors for BPT. The development of new technologies which allow for remote BP monitoring without the use of a cuff may aid in more extensive adoption of BPT. This …