The Task Force on Pulmonary Artery Catheterization will hold an Open Forum for discussing revised pulmonary catheter guidelines at the 23rd Annual Meeting and Workshops of the Society for Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, May 5-9, 2001, at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Center, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Open Forum for Pulmonary Catheter Guidelines Update will take place on Monday, May 7, from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and will use an audience response system.

As reported last month in the NEWSLETTER, the pulmonary artery catheterization task force will also hold an Open Forum during the 75th Clinical and Scientific Congress of the International Anesthesia Research Society in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on March 19. This task force is in the process of updating these practice guidelines that were first published in Anesthesiology in 1993. The guidelines will include recommendations on the use of pulmonary artery catheterization and its rationale, based on scientific evidence and expert opinion. For information on the open forums or the practice guidelines revisions, contact Frank Connell by e-mail at f.connell@ASAhq.org.

Another forum, Practice Guidelines for Recovery Care, will take place at the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia Annual Meeting in Palm Springs, California, at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort. On Friday, May 4, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., members of the Task Force on Recovery Care will conduct an Open Forum to hear comments and suggestions about the creation of Practice Guidelines for Recovery Care. This Open Forum has been rescheduled from Saturday, May 5, to Friday, May 4. Task Force on Recovery Care Chair Jeffrey H. Silverstein, M.D., stresses that the practice parameter process is highly dependent upon input from the anesthesia community.

For more information on the development of practice parameters for recovery care, contact Dr. Silverstein by e-mail at jeff.silverstein@ mssm.edu.

All the above Open Forums provide opportunities for practitioners to meet with task force members and offer suggestions that will have a direct impact on the final product.

Workshop on Transesophageal Echocardiography Planned

The Workshop on Transesophageal Echocardiography is intended as an introductory course on intraoperative echocardiography. The program will be held on June 9-10, 2001, at the Hilton Cleveland East/Beachwood Hotel in Beachwood, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland.

This workshop will introduce a number of topics that will provide the basics on the physics of ultrasound, the use of the echocardiography machine and the components of a complete transesophageal examination, along with the corresponding anatomical views and the pathophysiology of valvular heart disease and its intraoperative assessment.

Robert M. Savage, M.D., is one of the program’s co-chairs. He will speak on Basic Cardiac Anatomy and Imaging Planes, Anatomy Wet Lab and Valve Workshop. Michael G. Licina, M.D., another program co-chair, will speak on Physics of Ultrasound and Hemodynamics Workshop. Program co-chair Michael K. Cahalan, M.D., will speak on Abbreviated Examination, Assessment of Left Ventricle and Right Ventricle Systolic Function and Regional Wall Motion,” “History of TEE, Anatomy Wet Lab and Valve Workshop.

The other faculty and their topics are:

• Solomon Aronson, M.D., Artifacts and Pitfalls;
• Charles Hearn, D.O., Aortic Valve, Anatomy Wet Lab and Valve Workshop;
• Colleen G. Koch, M.D., “Mitral Valve” and “Valve Workshop;
• Steven N. Konstadt, M.D., “Tricuspid and Pulmonic Valve and Thoracic Aorta;
• Erik J. Kraenzler, M.D., Knobology Improving the Image;
• Ivan S. Salgo, M.D., Common Platforms and Knobs and Knobology Improving the Image;
• Jack S. Shanewise, M.D., Intraoperative Examination: Indications, Contraindications, Safety, Comprehensive Examination, Cardiac Hemodynamics and Hemodynamics Workshop.

ASA is approved by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to sponsor continuing medical education programs for physicians.

ASA designates this educational activity for a maximum of 14 hours in category 1 credit toward the American Medical Association Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit that he or she actually spent in the activity.

Registration is suggested by May 9, 2001. Registration fees are $300 for ASA active members, $125 for resident members and $650 for nonmembers.

A block of rooms is being held at the Hilton Cleveland East/Beachwood Hotel until May 18, 2001. Reservation information will be sent to registrants upon receipt of registration.

Component Society News: NYSSA's DSA Winner Announced

Louis S. Blancato, M.D., is to receive the 2001 New York State Society of Anesthesiologists Distinguished Service Award. The award will be presented during the 55th Postgraduate Assembly in Anesthesiology in New York, New York, on December 7-11, 2001.

FEATURES

Ethics & Patient Care: Striking a Balance

• Specialty-Specific Ethical Issues for the Anesthesiologist
  

• A Code of Conduct
  

• When Should Anesthesiologists Restrain Uncooperative Patients?
  

• Prospective Planning for Interventions in Patients Near the End of Life
  

• Informed Consent for the Patient with an Existing DNR Order
  
  

ARTICLES

• Infection Control Recommendations: Their Importance to the Practice of Anesthesiology
  

• Anesthesiologists' Assistants: Being A (Care) Team Player
  

• Backward or Forward, M-e-d-e-m and A-S-A Make a Great Team

• 2000 Art Exhibit Award Winners Earn Their Writes

DEPARTMENTS

• Ventilations
• Administrative Update
• Washington Report
• Practice Management
• Compliance Corner
• State Beat
• What's New In...
• Subspecialty News
• Residents' Review
• ASA News
• Component Society News
• In Memoriam
• Letters to the Editor
• FAER Report
  

The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views, policies or actions of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

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