Simulation-based Assessment to Reliably Identify Key Resident Performance Attributes.

Background: Obtaining reliable and valid information on resident performance is critical to patient safety and training program improvement. The goals were to characterize important anesthesia resident performance gaps that are not typically evaluated, and to further validate scores from a multiscenario simulation-based assessment.

Methods: Seven high-fidelity scenarios reflecting core anesthesiology skills were administered to 51 first-year residents (CA-1s) and 16 third-year residents (CA-3s) from three residency programs.

Safety and cost-effectiveness of port removal outside of the operating room among pediatric patients.

Purpose: The current emphasis on fiscally responsible health spending in the era of the Affordable Care Act and other health care reform necessitates cost-conscious delivery of care. "Value" in health care is defined as the quality of care divided by the cost. As such, health systems optimize value by providing the most cost-effective care possible without sacrificing safety or outcomes.

Infantile myofibroma or lymphatic malformation: differential diagnosis of neonatal cystic cervicofacial lesions.

A 5-day-old male neonate was referred to our vascular anomalies center with a large cystic submandibular mass. History and physical examination and ultrasonographic results indicated the diagnosis to be macrocystic lymphatic malformation. Consequently, the child was treated with sclerotherapy and subtotal excision.

Dexmedetomidine for pediatric sedation for computed tomography imaging studies.

Dexmedetomidine is a sedative with limited experience in the pediatric population. This is the first study that prospectively evaluates the sedation profile of a dexmedetomidine pilot program for pediatric sedation for radiological imaging studies. In March 2005, our hospital sedation committee approved the replacement of IV pentobarbital with dexmedetomidine as the standard of care for CT imaging.