ASA January 2003 Newsletter

In recent weeks, at least one in every 10 Americans read, watched or heard a news story that was generated from media coverage of the 2002 ASA Annual Meeting last October in Orlando, Florida.

A flurry of media coverage about anesthesiologists’ involvement in patient care actually began in August 2002 when conjoined infant twins from Guatemala were separated in a history-making surgical procedure at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center. Among the doctors interviewed by the media was anesthesiologist Barbara Van de Wiele, M.D., who appeared August 6 on the NBC television program “Today” and the following evening on the program “Dateline.” An estimated 15 million television viewers saw the interviews. Dr. Van de Wiele also was quoted in articles and shown in pictures featured in the New York Times and various Los Angeles press outlets.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s hand surgery last summer, which included the use of a relatively new type of regional block, also garnered media attention. On August 16, more than 2 million people read in the Washington Post about the Defense Secretary’s procedure. Included in the article were quotes from anesthesiologists Lt. Col. Trip Buckenmeir, M.D., Walter Reed Army Medical Center, who performed the regional block, and Mark J. Lema, M.D., Ph.D., Roswell Park Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York. Dr. Lema’s comments concerned the use of peripheral nerve catheters, which were used in Secretary Rumsfeld’s procedure.

In September, more than 800 media outlets nationwide were notified of the upcoming 2002 ASA Annual Meeting through e-mailed media alerts and distribution of the Annual Meeting Media Kit. The media kit’s news releases highlighted scientific presentations with consumer interest in such areas as patient safety, pain medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics and bioterrorism.

Media Covers Redheads, Potato Starch, Acupuncture and Russian Gassing Incident
More than 30 million newspaper readers saw articles about the scientific presentation from Edwin B. Liem, M.D., and Daniel I. Sessler, M.D., University of Louisville, Kentucky, on the link between naturally red-haired people and their requirement for increased anesthesia during surgery. After a story on the Associated Press newswire was published by newspapers in this country and abroad, mentions of the study were included in hundreds of television newscasts and radio news reports across the United States. Dr. Sessler appeared on the ABC television program “Good Morning America” and was seen by an estimated audience of more than 6 million viewers. The study received so much media attention that “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno joked about it in one of his opening monologues. A mention of the red-headed study also is expected in an upcoming Reader’s Digest issue, with an international circulation of nearly 100 million.

Among the other annual meeting items that gained media attention included the development of a potato-based starch substance that can clot blood almost immediately and reduce the risk of patient allergic reactions to other clotting agents. This story was picked up by several news services such as United Press International and Reuters Health. The weekly nationwide newspaper supplement USA Weekend ran the story, which reached 23 million readers.

The Associated Press also reported on another scientific presentation — the use of acupuncture to relieve pain in children. More than 2.5 million newspaper readers saw articles about the presentation in such newspapers as USA Today, the Daily Oklahoman and Durham Herald Sun.

The announcement from Duke University researchers about a drug that could be administered prior to surgery to combat postsurgical cognitive dysfunction prompted coverage in the media. A quote from ASA President James E. Cottrell, M.D., and Mark F. Newman, M.D., Chair of Duke University’s anesthesiology department, was included in the story, which appeared in such papers as the Miami Herald, Minneapolis Star Tribune and Atlanta Journal Constitution, to name a few.

Deadly world events following the Annual Meeting prompted media calls to ASA for information about the “anesthetic gas” that Russian officials admitted using during its efforts to free Moscow theater patrons taken hostage by Chechen rebels. While several anesthetics and pain medicines were initially suspected, it was several days after the raid when Russian officials publicly admitted pumping a form of fentanyl into the theater to disable the hostage-takers. A number of hostage deaths in the theater during and after the Russian raid from apparent narcotic overdoses prompted media inquiries into the type of gas used — Russian officials had said it was a gas similar to that often used in surgery. Dr. Cottrell spoke with several media outlets, including the New York Times and Associated Press, about surgical narcotics and the need for precise measurement and management of these substances.

Associated Press news stories are distributed to more than 6,700 media outlets in the United States and 8,500 international media outlets in 121 countries.

Audio Newsline Features
Each year, in conjunction with the ASA Annual Meeting, selected scientific program presenters, committee chairs and officers are provided with a channel to proactively reach audiences in their individual communities and the entire nation.

Radio news reports are produced from interviews conducted on site at the Annual Meeting and then distributed to individual radio stations and radio networks across the country. Specific attention is paid to those stations in the presenter’s home state. In 2002, the audio reports generated an audience in excess of 17 million radio listeners.

Months after the Annual Meeting, media coverage of its scientific presentations continues to be published. Since many consumer magazines work three to four months in advance, we can expect to see more articles about ASA’s scientific presentations in 2003.

return to top