Focused Cardiac Ultrasound for the Regional Anesthesiologist and Pain Specialist.

This article in our point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) series discusses the benefits of focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS) for the regional anesthesiologist and pain specialist. Focused cardiac US is an important tool for all anesthesiologists assessing patients with critical conditions such as shock and cardiac arrest. However, given that ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia is emerging as the new standard of care, there is an expanding role for ultrasound in the perioperative setting for regional anesthesiologists to help improve patient assessment and management.

Prevalence of undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea among adult surgical patients in an academic medical center.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects approximately 20% of US adults, of whom about 90% are undiagnosed. While OSA may increase risk of perioperative complications, its prevalence among surgical patients is unknown. We tested the feasibility of screening surgical patients for OSA and determined the prevalence of undiagnosed OSA.