Department of Anesthesiology Archives
Study finds recommended ICU sedatives equally safe, effective
Feb. 2, 2021—Sedative medications used in intensive care are associated with increased delirium, which is in turn connected with higher medical costs and greater risk of death and ICU-related dementia.
Residents, fellows step up to help care for COVID patients
Jan. 14, 2021—Following a Thanksgiving surge that led to record numbers of admissions of patients with COVID-19, residents and fellows from multiple disciplines have come together under the direction and supervision of critical care attendings to provide the best care to critically ill patients in Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit.
VA adopts enhanced recovery for total knee, total hip patients
Jan. 7, 2021—For patients receiving total knee or total hip replacements at the Nashville VA Medical Center, the use of opioids for inpatient pain management and the total time patients spent in the hospital were both greatly reduced following the January 2016 adoption of sweeping quality improvement measures.
Polymer protection for heart muscle
Dec. 14, 2020—Vanderbilt researchers demonstrate that the polymer P188 has promise as a therapy to prevent reperfusion injury — the cellular damage that occurs when blood flow returns after an ischemic event like a heart attack.
New approach helps conserve blood products for liver transplant patients
Dec. 10, 2020—Liver transplants have traditionally required a high volume of transfusions of blood products, which comes with several downsides. The products are costly to patients — as high as $15,000 on top of the expense of a transplant. And they are sometimes not well accepted in patients because they degrade over time and are derived from multiple patients.
Histamine circuits in brain reward center
Oct. 29, 2020—Histamine — commonly associated with allergies — also has a signaling role in the brain’s reward center and may offer a novel target for treating addiction.
NIAAA director Koob set for Nov. 5 virtual Discovery Lecture
Oct. 22, 2020—The Discovery Lecture Series launches this fall with a webinar format, the first featuring George Koob, PhD, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Event continues VUMC tradition of providing free hand surgeries
Aug. 24, 2020—For the fourth straight year, VUMC surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and support staff provided free surgeries for underinsured individuals with chronic upper extremity conditions such as carpel tunnel syndrome and cysts.
Land of plenty (of opioids)
Aug. 24, 2020—Surgical patients are being given more opioids than they need for postsurgical pain management, raising the risk of addiction.
Study finds aerobic exercise spurs endorphins, relieves low back pain
Aug. 5, 2020—Six weeks of aerobic exercise can lead to sustained increases in endogenous opioid function and significant relief for chronic low back pain, according to a randomized controlled trial by Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Stephen Bruehl, PhD, and colleagues, reported in Pain.
Post-surgical bleeding associated with more deaths when compared to blood clots after surgery
Jul. 20, 2020—Post-surgical bleeding is associated with more deaths than blood clots from surgery, according to a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study published in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia.
VUMC Obstetric Anesthesiology named a Center of Excellence by the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology
Jun. 9, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Division of Obstetric Anesthesiology has been designated as a Center of Excellence (COE) by the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP).
