Is the Compassion of Anesthesiologists Associated With Postoperative Pain and Patient Experience? A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Patient perception of physician compassion may be associated with improved health outcomes, yet it is unclear whether it is associated with postoperative pain reduction or improved patient experience metrics in same-day surgery patients. We hypothesized that higher anesthesiologist compassion during the preanesthesia interview, rated by patients, is associated with lower postoperative pain via the anxiety pathway in same-day surgery patients. We also performed exploratory correlation analysis to assess whether compassion was associated with less opioid consumption and improved patient experience in same-day surgery patients.

Hospital initiatives in promoting smoking cessation: A 12-year follow-up.

In the present study, the availability of smoking cessation programs (SCP) was surveyed in the same randomly selected USA hospitals in 2000 and 2012. A total of 102 USA hospitals were randomly selected for this survey. Each hospital website was searched for the topic of smoking cessation.

Increasing severity of aortic atherosclerosis in coronary artery bypass grafting patients evaluated by transesophageal echocardiography.

Background: Atherosclerotic disease in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients is a potential contributor to complications in the perioperative periods. This study was undertaken to better define how the frequency of aortic atheromatous disease among patients coming for CABG has evolved over the last decade.

Methods: Data from elective patients coming for CABG who underwent transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) examinations following induction of anesthesia were obtained for the years 2002 and 2009.

Noise levels in modern operating rooms during surgery.

Objective: To determine if differences in noise levels exist in the cardiac operating room at various critical points.

Design: Prospective, nonrandomized study.

Setting: Cardiac operating rooms of a university hospital.

The Swan-Ganz catheter as a teaching tool for the anesthesiologist learning minimally invasive cardiac surgery.

Objective: To perform minimally invasive cardiac surgery through the smallest possible wound and with the least number of incisions in the heart or aorta, the necessary cannulations to undergo cardiopulmonary bypass must be done through peripheral vessels. A difficult skill to learn for the cardiac anesthesiologist is how to safely and efficiently position the coronary sinus catheter (Endoplege; Edwards Lifesciences LLC, Irvine, CA USA) required for retrograde cardioplegia administration.

Methods: In patients in whom a Swan-Ganz catheter was inserted as part of the operative management strategy for non-minimally invasive heart surgery, we have been using it as a training tool to learn how to visualize and manipulate right-sided catheters under transesophageal echocardiography.

Cannulation of the middle cardiac vein during MICS.

Coronary sinus cannulation for retrograde cardioplegia administration during cardiac surgery is common practice. Several of the cannulas that are placed by the cardiac surgeon on open procedures are now placed by the cardiac anesthesiologist during minimally invasive cardiac surgery, including the coronary sinus catheter. The understanding of the cardiac venous anatomy is very important during coronary sinus catheter placement.

Edwards EndoVent as a pacing catheter for minimally invasive aortic valve surgery: a novel approach.

Objective: The placement of epicardial pacing wires before weaning from bypass during port-access heart surgery can be difficult or impossible. Sometimes, it is necessary to pacing the patient to wean from bypass, and it is problematic to exchange the Edwards pulmonary vent (EndoVent) for a pace catheter under the drapes. Our objective was to devise an effective means of pacing the patient using the pulmonary vent catheter.

Hospital initiatives in promoting smoking cessation: a survey of Internet and hospital-based programs targeted at consumers.

Study Objectives: This study assesses how often local US hospitals provide smoking cessation information in the following two ways: via hospital Web sites; and via routing incoming phone calls to their hospital switchboards to an in-house smoking cessation clinic.

Design: Random survey of US hospitals.

Setting: US hospital Web pages and telephone switchboards.

Response to nitric oxide during adult cardiac surgery.

Pulmonary hypertension is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in adult cardiac surgery patients. Inhaled nitric oxide is known to be a selective pulmonary vasodilator in this setting. However, it is not known which cardiac surgery patients benefit most from nitric oxide therapy.