Kentucky Society of Anesthesiologists

Highlights From The Annual Spring Meeting 2009
Masroor Alam, MD, MPH

Problems with Guidelines:

“Evidence based best practices not only target improved outcome but are also geared towards enhancing the process in delivery of medical care," said Dr. John H. Eichhorn, Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Kentucky (UK).  The title of his talk at the Annual Spring Meeting of Kentucky Society of Anesthesiologists held in Covington, Kentucky at the Marriot River Center was “Problems with Guidelines.”

According to Eichorn (2009) guidelines are a natural offshoot of evidence based medicine (EBM).  The scope of medical knowledge is expanding and the practice is increasingly complex.   Therefore, it may be valid to use guidelines based on EBM to help direct physician's efforts and improve outcome.  Guidelines appear to have a positive impact on quality and safety of care.  Anesthesiology as a specialty has been on the forefront of this effort, starting with the introduction of monitoring standards.

The Annual Spring Meeting of the Kentucky Society of Anesthesiologists was held March 27, 2010 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, Louisville, KY and was a great success.  Following is a summary of the education programs:

Current Issues in Anesthesia
Scientific Session 2010 Annual Meeting
By: Masroor Alam, MD, MPH

In the elderly, the brain may be vulnerable due to region specific atrophy along with loss of synapse. White matter responsible for maintaining communication between different areas of the brain is damaged.  These patients may have underlying occult brain disease and the stress of surgery may provide the perfect setup for unmasking this underlying pathology.   All these factors combined make elderly patients much more prone to delirium and post operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) observed, Dr. Gregory J. Crosby.  Dr. Crosby is Associate Professor of Anesthesia at the Brigham and Women Hospital, Harvard Medical School.  He was speaking at the Annual meeting of the KSA held in Louisville on March 27th, 2010.