Department of Anesthesiology Archives
Delirium, benzos and the pediatric ICU
Oct. 2, 2017—With other risk factors held equal, children who received a benzodiazepine sedative drug were nearly three times more likely to experience delirium – confused thought – the following day.
ECMO program takes life-saving therapy on the road
Sep. 28, 2017—Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is home to the state’s largest adult Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Program. And most recently, it became the only adult program in Tennessee with a mobile team that can initiate ECMO on patients transported to the Medical Center by its ambulances.
Kilkelly named chief of Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology
Sep. 28, 2017—Jill Kilkelly, M.D., has been named chief of the Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology after serving as interim chief since November 2016.
Medication safety in the ICU
Sep. 19, 2017—Facilitated reporting of medication-related events in the intensive care unit can provide opportunities for optimizing quality of care and patient safety.
Empathy, adaptability, curiosity define Rice’s career
Aug. 31, 2017—Ten years ago Mark Rice, M.D.’s beloved Green Bay Packers were playing football against the Miami Dolphins, and he was in the stands with his parents and children. It was a hot day. A woman nearby went into a seizure, and Rice went to her aid.
An immune regulator of addiction
Aug. 4, 2017—Although drug addiction is classically studied in a neuron-centric way, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that the immune system also plays a critical role.
Study seeks to improve emergency event management
Jul. 13, 2017—Anesthesiology has a long history of scrutinizing its practice and developing strategies for improvement.
Predicting the infection response
Apr. 19, 2017—Vanderbilt investigators are probing the response to a bacterial toxin as a clinical assessment of immune function.
Anesthesiology creates perioperative medicine fellowship
Apr. 13, 2017—The department of Anesthesiology has created a new training program, the Fellowship in Perioperative Medicine, set to launch in July. The multidisciplinary 12-month program has slots for up to four fellows, and is open to physicians who’ve completed residency in either Anesthesiology or General Surgery.
Protocol helps manage blood glucose during surgery
Feb. 23, 2017—A study conducted by researchers in the Department of Anesthesiology found a clinical information systems protocol, developed by the department’s Vanderbilt Perioperative Information Management Systems (VPIMS) developer group, improved management of blood glucose during the intraoperative period, resulting in reduced instances of hyperglycemia as well as a reduction in surgical site infections in diabetic patients and those with impaired glucose control following surgical procedures.
Laughing gas for labor
Feb. 21, 2017—Although nitrous oxide was less effective than epidural anesthesia for pain management during labor, mothers who used nitrous oxide were equally satisfied with their childbirth experience.
Pathology of septic shock
Feb. 8, 2017—The signaling molecule IL-15 promotes septic shock, a life-threatening condition involving organ injury caused by infection.
