Critical Care Simulation Education Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Coronaviruses are important emerging human and animal pathogens. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is responsible for the current global pandemic. Early in the course of the pandemic, New York City became one of the world's "hot spots" with more than 250,000 cases and more than 15,000 deaths.

Managing COVID-19 from the epicenter: adaptations and suggestions based on experience.

In March 2020, the New York City metropolitan area became the epicenter of the United States' SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the surge of new cases threatened to overwhelm the area's hospital systems. This article describes how an anesthesiology department at a large urban academic hospital rapidly adapted and deployed to meet the threat head-on. Topics included are preparatory efforts, development of a team-based staffing model, and a new strategy for resource management.

Intraoperative Electronic Alerts Improve Compliance With National Quality Program Measure for Perioperative Temperature Management.

Background: Reimbursement for anesthesia services has been shifting from a fee-for-service model to a value-based model that ties payment to quality metrics. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service's (CMS) value-based payment program includes a quality measure for perioperative temperature management (Measure #424, Perioperative Temperature Management). Compliance may impose new challenges in clinical practice, data collection, and reporting.

Impact of Intravenous Acetaminophen on Perioperative Opioid Utilization and Outcomes in Open Colectomies: A Claims Database Analysis.

Background: The value of intravenous acetaminophen in postoperative pain management remains debated. The authors tested the hypothesis that intravenous acetaminophen use, in isolation and in comparison to oral, would be associated with decreased opioid utilization (clinically significant reduction defined as 25%) and opioid-related adverse effects in open colectomy patients.

Methods: Using national claims data from open colectomy patients (Premier Healthcare Database, Premier Healthcare Solutions, Inc.

The Mount Sinai clinical pathway for the management of pheochromocytoma.

Objective: Pheochromocytomas are complex tumors that require a comprehensive and systematic management plan orchestrated by a multidisciplinary team.

Methods: To achieve these ends, The Mount Sinai Adrenal Center hosted an interdisciplinary retreat where experts in adrenal disorders assembled with the aim of developing a clinical pathway for the management of pheochromocytomas.

Results: The result was a consensus for the diagnosis, perioperative management, and postoperative management of pheochromocytomas, with specific recommendations from our team of adrenal experts, as well as a review of the current literature.

Invasive and concomitant noninvasive intraoperative blood pressure monitoring: observed differences in measurements and associated therapeutic interventions.

Background: Noninvasive (NIBP) and intraarterial (ABP) blood pressure monitoring are used under different circumstances and may yield different values. The authors endeavored to characterize these differences and hypothesized that there could be differences in interventions associated with the use of ABP alone ([ABP]) versus ABP in combination with NIBP ([ABP+NIBP]).

Methods: Simultaneous measurements of ABP and NIBP made during noncardiac cases were extracted from electronic anesthesia records; the differences were subjected to regression analysis.

Amniotic fluid embolism.

Amniotic fluid embolism is one of the most catastrophic complications of pregnancy. First described in 1941, the condition is exceedingly rare and the exact pathophysiology is still unknown. The etiology was thought to be embolic in nature, but more recent evidence suggests an immunologic basis.

Transesophageal echocardiography utilization in high-volume liver transplantation centers in the United States.

Objective: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) during liver transplantation (LT) has been shown to be helpful in managing fluid therapy, monitoring myocardial function, and identifying intraoperative LT complications. The present study sought to investigate the current utilization of TEE by anesthesiologists during LT as well as issues of training and credentialing in this monitoring modality.

Design: A survey distributed by electronic mail.

Radiologic assessment of potential sites for needle decompression of a tension pneumothorax.

Background: The recommended treatment of suspected tension pneumothorax is immediate needle decompression. Recommended sites and needle sizes for this procedure vary, and there are published reports of failed decompression as well as iatrogenic hemothorax. We investigated the optimal needle length and relative safety of three potential needle decompression sites.

The pulmonary artery catheter in anesthesia practice in 2007: an historical overview with emphasis on the past 6 years.

The pulmonary artery catheter has been widely used in anesthesiology and critical care medicine. Until recently, only retrospective or relatively weak prospective studies examining its effect on outcome had been performed. Over the past 6 years, however, a number of well-designed prospective trials and statistically sound retrospective studies have been completed.

Intraoperative acute tumor lysis syndrome during laparoscopic splenectomy preceded by splenic artery embolization.

Laparoscopic resection has become the standard of care for routine splenectomy. Preoperative splenic artery embolization for massive splenomegaly has been described to allow a laparoscopic approach in previously ineligible laparoscopic candidates. Our case describes an intraoperative cardiac arrest secondary to tumor lysis after preoperative splenic artery embolization.

Feasibility and potential clinical utility of goal-directed transthoracic echocardiography performed by noncardiologist intensivists using a small hand-carried device (SonoHeart) in critically ill patients.

Objective: This study was designed to assess the clinical applicability of a small, handheld, portable transthoracic echocardiography device by noncardiologist intensivists.

Design: Prospective, observational study. After 10 one-hour tutorials, intensivists performed a limited transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) (2-4 views, without Doppler or M-mode) examination with the 5.