| |
September 2000
Volume 64 |
Number 9
|
| |
SUBSPECIALTY NEWS
|
| Society of Cardiovascular
Anesthesiologists: Taking It to Heart |
Daniel M. Thys, M.D., President Society of Cardiovascular
Anesthesiologists
Over the last 12 months, the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists
(SCA) has seen continued growth in its existing activities and
has launched a number of new initiatives. Education in cardiac,
thoracic and vascular anesthesiology remains one of the primary
activities of SCA. In addition to its Annual Meeting (Orlando,
Florida, May 6-10, 2000), SCA sponsored three other large meetings
in 2000. The 3rd Annual Echo Review Course (February 8-13, 2000),
organized in collaboration with the American Society of Echocardiography
(ASE), attracted more than 550 participants to San Diego, California,
for six days of intense instruction in perioperative echocardiography.
The faculty consisted of 15 anesthesiologists, nine cardiothoracic
surgeons and 11 cardiologists and provided more than 50 hours
of continuing medical education (CME) credit.
The 5th Update on Cardiopulmonary Bypass was held in Breckenridge,
Colorado, from March 19-25, 2000. This meeting was a collaborative
effort between SCA, the American Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists,
the American Society of Extracorporeal Technology and the Canadian
Society of Clinical Perfusionists. The more than 230 participants
and faculty consisted of anesthesiologists, perfusionists, cardiothoracic
surgeons and cardiologists. Finally, SCA held its 7th International
Meeting in Quebec City, Canada (June 1-3, 2000), immediately before
the World Congress of Anaesthesiologists in Montreal, Quebec,
Canada. The meeting was a collaborative effort between SCA and
the cardiovascular and thoracic section of the Canadian Anaesthesiologists’
Society. It brought together more than 290 participants from 38
different countries.
In April 2000, CME made its debut on the SCA Web site
with two educational vignettes. Ivan S. Salgo, M.D., from the
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, authored "Echocardiographic
Assessment of Patients Undergoing Ventricular Assist Device Placement."
It described the clinical course of a 35-year-old male who suffered
from ventricular failure and required a left ventricular device
placement. The case report provides clinical information and shows
echocardiographic images, including video clips and a number of
questions concerning the clinical findings and the patient's management.
The second vignette is titled "The Bleeding Patient Following
Cardiopulmonary Bypass" and was authored by E. Price Stover,
M.D., from Stanford University. The case describes a 38-year-old
male who had undergone a Ross procedure with a prolonged cardiopulmonary
bypass (CPB) time. Diffuse mediastinal bleeding followed CPB.
The vignette proceeds with 14 multiple-choice questions concerning
the patient’s management and general knowledge about hemostasis.
At the completion of the quiz, answers can be scored. CME credits
are not yet available for completion of the educational quizzes,
but they may become available in the near future. SCA is fully
committed to a strong presence on the Internet, and recent statistics
suggest that demand for Web-based information is great. Successful
requests for are approaching 3,000 per day.
In the area of graduate medical education, SCA has come to the
conclusion that accreditation of subspecialty training in cardiothoracic
anesthesiology by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
Education (ACGME) will enhance the care of patients with cardiothoracic
diseases who undergo procedures. A task force under the leadership
of Joseph G. Reves, M.D., and Alan Jay Schwartz, M.D., has completed
the subspecialty application documents. At the end of July 2000,
they were forwarded to ACGME with a recommendation from SCA that
cardiothoracic anesthesiology be recognized as an accredited subspecialty.
Numerous letters of support from anesthesiology program directors
and other specialty societies accompanied the documents.
The role of anesthesiologists in perioperative echocardiography
continues to be a dominant interest of SCA. The SCA Task Force
for Certification in Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography
and the Council for Intraoperative Echocardiography of ASE jointly
developed guidelines for performing a comprehensive intraoperative,
multiplane transesophageal echocardiography examination. The guidelines
were published simultaneously in the October 1999 issues of Anesthesia
& Analgesia and the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography.
SCA and ASE have also agreed to jointly develop guidelines for
training in perioperative transesophageal echocardiography. A
task force is presently being appointed and the training guidelines
should be forthcoming in 2001.
When the National Board of Echocardiography (NBE) was created
in 1998, three SCA representatives were appointed to its board
of directors. They have played an active role in the deliberations
of NBE, particularly as they relate to the NBE examination of
Special Competence in Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography.
NBE has recently decided to proceed with a board certification
process for echocardiography. For board certification in general
echocardiography, the applicant will be assessed on the successful
completion of training dedicated to the study of cardiovascular
diseases, with specialty training in echocardiography and success
in the comprehensive echocardiography examination of NBE. While
most anesthesiologists will probably have little interest in becoming
board-certified in general echocardiography, it is worth noting
that nothing precludes qualified anesthesiologists from obtaining
such board certification.
Finally in February 2000, the board of directors of SCA conducted
a strategic planning retreat to better define the Society's goals
for the next three years. The mission of SCA as an international
organization of physicians that promotes excellence in patient
care through education and research in perioperative care for
patients undergoing cardiothoracic and vascular procedures was
confirmed. Some of SCA's major goals will be to provide the highest
caliber of education, to advocate for the care and education of
patients and interests of members, to increase membership from
the worldwide physician community and to increase cardiothoracic
and vascular scientific knowledge. SCA envisions itself as providing
leadership in the perioperative care of the patient with cardiac,
thoracic and vascular diseases.
Daniel M. Thys, M.D., is Chair, Department
of Anesthesiology, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, and Professor,
Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University, New York, New
York.
return to topHome >Newsletters
>September 2000Home >Test |