Anesthesia Key

Introduction Cigarette smoking is the most important avoidable cause of mortality in the United States. The long-term effects of cigarette smoking in causing cardiac disease, vascular disease, pulmonary disease, and…

Introduction Hypertension affects about 1 billion people and is a leading cause of death worldwide. This global prevalence is likely to increase further as the population ages. The relationship between…

Introduction Prevalence and Epidemiology Cocaine abuse and addiction continue to be a problem that plagues the United States and many other countries. Data from the U.S. Drug Abuse Warning Network…

Introduction Perioperative stroke is a potentially devastating complication of surgery that has an incidence that varies widely with the surgical procedure. A perioperative stroke can occur intraoperatively or in the…

Introduction Surgery on a pregnant woman raises several concerns. These include the effect of surgery and anesthesia on the developing fetus and the potential to trigger preterm labor. The hazards…

Introduction The resting 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is the one of the most widely used diagnostic tests in medicine, and preoperative ECG is the most commonly obtained cardiovascular diagnostic test before…

Introduction Each year, between $11 and $30 million are spent on preoperative testing; this includes the cost of laboratory tests and related consultations. For an anesthesiologist, the preoperative evaluation is…

Introduction High-quality preprocedure assessment requires evidence-based risk assessment and management in a setting of efficiency and cost containment. Preprocedure testing should be targeted such that the results will enable the…

Practice parameters developed by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) have been an important resource for physicians and other health-care workers for more than 20 years. The intention of the…