Local anesthetic drugs are crucial to an anesthesia provider’s practice. Local anesthesia creates temporary and reversible pain elimination in specific areas of the body.1 During the perioperative period, local anesthesia’s role in pain control leads to improved cardiac, respiratory and gastrointestinal functions; fewer blood clot-related…
Local anesthesia is an integral part of anesthesiology. Local anesthetics are administered by many medical providers, including anesthesiologists, surgeons, emergency room clinicians, dentists and more.1 Though practitioners often associate local anesthetics with few side effects and low risk of toxicity, they can lead to local anesthetic…
Pethidine, also known as meperidine in North America, is a less potent opioid drug with analgesic effects.1 Pethidine, which is now sold as Demerol, was first discovered in 1939 during a search for muscle-relaxing compounds, and its original use as…
Enhanced Recovery after surgery (ERAS) programs focus on improving surgical outcomes such as patient experience, complications, mortality, and time to discharge from the hospital. ERAS teams typically consist of surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and other healthcare providers who work together to…
Buprenorphine is an opioid drug that can be used to treat chronic pain or alleviate opioid addiction.1 Unlike other opioid drugs such as morphine and heroin, buprenorphine has a limit in its ability to produce a “high” or euphoric effect.1…
HELLP syndrome is a life-threatening pregnancy complication that is a variant of preeclampsia.1 It usually occurs during the later stages of pregnancy, but may also occur after childbirth.1 HELLP syndrome is named after its characteristics, which include hemolysis (the breaking…
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common disabling neurological diseases. It affects over one million individuals in the United States and about 1% of the population over 60 years of age (1). It is a degenerative disease of…
A hysterectomy is a surgery to remove a person’s uterus.1 After a hysterectomy is performed, the patient will no longer have menstrual periods and cannot become pregnant.1 Given the invasiveness and permanence of the surgery, it is highly unlikely that…
Coagulation disorders are diseases marked by abnormal bleeding or blood clotting due to issues in the coagulation system, platelets or blood vessels.1 Coagulation disorders can be acquired (e.g. vitamin K deficiency or liver disease) or hereditary (e.g. hemophilia).1 Though these…
Music therapy, a research-based practice in which music supports people striving to improve their health, functioning and well-being,1 has roots in ancient times2 and is becoming commonplace in contemporary medicine.3 Music is used in a variety of clinical settings to…