Lately, my task list at the hospital is anchored around a select few things. Answer stat pages to intubate people with COVID, and with diligence, restock my PPE for intubating people with COVID. But then intercom lullabies for newborn deliveries let me float away, for just a moment, to my baby nieces and older nephew. The mental reprieve fades, so I chart check lab results to … [Read more...] about Anesthesia Trainees and Pain Management: Learning through the Global Pandemic Lens
By Daniel H. Gouger, MD
VCU Health Department of Anesthesiology
Resident Editor, VSA Update
Theme Articles
Anesthesia Trainees and Pain Management: Learning through the Global Pandemic Lens
Spinal Cord Stimulators and Intrathecal Pumps: Anesthetic Considerations, Perioperative Evaluation, and Management
By Elysha Dinh, MD
Fellow, Pain Management, PM&R
VCU, Richmond, VA
and Robert J. Trainer DO, MBA
Anesthesiologist and Pain Management Physician
Director, Spinal Cord Stimulator Program, CVHCS
Richmond, VA
Spinal Cord stimulation (SCS) and intrathecal drug delivery systems (IDDS) are becoming increasingly important in the management of chronic pain. It will be progressively more common for the anesthesia team to encounter patients with these devices. This article aims to discuss possible concerns regarding the management of patients with SCS and IDDS in the perioperative … [Read more...] about Spinal Cord Stimulators and Intrathecal Pumps: Anesthetic Considerations, Perioperative Evaluation, and Management
By Elysha Dinh, MD
Fellow, Pain Management, PM&R
VCU, Richmond, VA
and Robert J. Trainer DO, MBA
Anesthesiologist and Pain Management Physician
Director, Spinal Cord Stimulator Program, CVHCS
Richmond, VA
ERAS Pain Control Protocol Explained
By Lynda T. Wells, MBBS
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
University of Virginia
Charlottesville VA
The significance of pain control in enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) was first described by George Washington Crile in 1912. He observed that outcomes for patients who received ether anesthesia alone for surgery did very poorly compared to those who also received nitrous oxide and/or morphine. The best outcomes, he noted, were in patients who received cocaine nerve blocks … [Read more...] about ERAS Pain Control Protocol Explained
By Lynda T. Wells, MBBS
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
University of Virginia
Charlottesville VA
The Influence of Sex, Gender, and the “X” Chromosome on the Pain Management Experience
By Chinwe Anumudu, MD
Chief Anesthesiology Resident
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA
and Denise D. Lester, MD
Anesthesiologist and Pain Physician
Assistant Professor Anesthesiology and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
VCU/ MCV/CVHCS
Richmond, VA
The patient-specific individual experience and treatment of pain is currently a highly debated point of discussion. No longer are pain management consultants using a “standardized” concept to manage pain in their patients.
It is well known that many variables such as our personal immune system and our individual unique gene expressions alter our pain experience even when … [Read more...] about The Influence of Sex, Gender, and the “X” Chromosome on the Pain Management Experience
By Chinwe Anumudu, MD
Chief Anesthesiology Resident
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA
and Denise D. Lester, MD
Anesthesiologist and Pain Physician
Assistant Professor Anesthesiology and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
VCU/ MCV/CVHCS
Richmond, VA
Access to Interventional Pain Management in Virginia
By Gabriel Beluchukwu, MD
Anesthesiology Research Resident
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA
In Virginia, like the rest of the country, pain is one of the most common causes of medical consultation. Pain can be either acute or chronic. Acute pain is the sudden onset of pain sensation triggered by the nervous system secondary to specific events like accident injuries, surgical site pain, child labor and delivery, etc. Acute pain usually resolves following adequate … [Read more...] about Access to Interventional Pain Management in Virginia
By Gabriel Beluchukwu, MD
Anesthesiology Research Resident
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA