RT Book, Section
A1 Li, Jinlei
A1 Halaszynski, Thomas M.
A2 Hadzic, Admir
SR Print(0)
ID 1141738612
T1 Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship
T2 Hadzic's Textbook of Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Management, 2e
YR 2017
FD 2017
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071717595
LK accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1141738612
RD 2024/04/18
AB Regional  anesthesia  was  established  early  in  the  history  of  medicine,  but  became  somewhat  obsolete,  if  not  abandoned  following  the  introduction  of  modern  and  safer  general  anesthetics.  Acute  pain  management  has  regained  attention  and  popularity  by  anesthesiologists  over  the  past  few  decades  due  to  several  factors,  such  as  significant  advances  in  regional  anesthesia  technology,  patient  parameters  of  a  continuing  search  for  improved  safety  and  satisfaction  criteria  in  medicine,  and  an  enhanced  accountable  evaluation  of  healthcare  system  resource  utilization.  The  demand  for  and  acceptance  of  regional  anesthesia  practices  from  both  surgeons  and  patients  has  also  increased  over  the  past  few  decades.  Patients  benefit  with  enhanced  approval  and  outcome  and  surgeons  receive  increased  patient  referrals  and  decreased  perioperative  complications  with  better  pain  management.1  Advancement  of  medical  technologies,  especially  ease  and  availability  of  ultrasound  developments,  have  reshaped  regional  anesthesia  into  a  more  accurate,  effective,  and  efficient  modality  toward  enhanced  patient  care.  Trained  and  experienced  anesthesiologists  from  regional  anesthesia  fellowship  programs  are  now  able  to  deliver  fast,  safe,  consistent,  and  reliable  regional  techniques,  especially  peripheral  nerve  blocks,  in  contrast  to  the  previous  conventional  (e.g.,  paresthesia)  “hit  or  miss”  methods  of  regional  anesthesia.  An  enhanced  emphasis  on  effective  and  adequate  pain  control,  patient  autonomy,  and  patient  satisfaction  (both  surgical  and  pain  management  experiences)  play  a  significant  role  in  this  continuing  transition.  Additional  benefits  of  practicing  regional  anesthesia  techniques  by  fellowship-trained  physicians  became  appreciated  by  hospital  administrators,  other  healthcare  providers  besides  surgeons,  such  as  earlier  ambulation,  shorter  hospital  stay(s),  an  improved  proactive  role  in  rehabilitation,  and  minimization  of  adverse  side  effects  often  associated  with  narcotic-based  pain  medications,  to  list  a  few  of  the  clinically  relevant  advantages.  In  addition,  economic  pressure(s)  to  enhance  cost-efficiency  of  surgical  centers,  shorten  both  operating  room  time  and  postanesthesia  care  unit  (PACU)  stay,  improve  Hospital  Consumer  Assessment  of  Health  Plans  Survey  (HCAHPS)  scores  (nationally  standardized  patient  outcome  survey),  and  advance  perioperative  pain  control  have  all  made  regional  anesthesia/analgesia  more  appealing  as  an  readily  available  option  toward  both  patient-specific  and  procedure-specific  anesthesia  care.  Incorporating  regional  anesthesia  can  also  provide  an  alternative  for  the  aging  population  with  complex  comorbidities  that  continue  to  pose  significant  risks  in  healthcare  management.