It is with great enthusiasm that the Committee on Refresher Courses announces the programs for the ASA 2005 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s content offers an excellent number of opportunities for those hoping to be educated in a specific area and also offers a wide variety of selections for those seeking to broaden their knowledge base.

The subspecialty areas of cardiac anesthesia, critical care medicine, pain medicine and neuroanesthesia are offering world-class curriculum for those interested in these topics. These subspecialty areas have been designed by leaders in each field with input from subspecialty societies and committees.

The task of each section is to offer learning opportunities for the advanced practitioner while also serving the needs of the resident or junior faculty member. In general topics, the goal is to provide critical information for the practicing anesthesiologist to enhance his or her practice on a daily basis. Daniel J. Cole, M.D., Vice-Chair of the Committee on Refresher Courses, played an important role in overseeing the program for general content and educational goals.

Cardiac Anesthesia
The cardiac anesthesia track was coordinated with the leadership of Solomon Aronson, M.D. This track will be offered primarily on Monday and Tuesday. The topics to be covered include preoperative assessment, anesthesia for thoracic surgery, pacemakers and devices, hematological stability, fluid management, transesophageal echocardiography, new antiarrythmics, pulmonary hypertension, diseases of the valves, monitoring with central venous pressure and pulmonary artery catheters, and anesthesia for endovascular procedures.

Critical Care
The critical care track was coordinated with the leadership of Neal H. Cohen, M.D. This track will be offered primarily on Saturday and Sunday. The topics to be covered include adult respiratory distress syndrome, mechanical ventilation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, injury and shock, clinical hemodynamics, fluid management in the critically ill, infection control, antibiotic resistance, renal failure, urine output and bioterrorism.

Obstetrics
The obstetrical anesthesia track was coordinated with the leadership of David J. Wlody, M.D., and will be offered primarily on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Topics include management of pre-eclampsia, controversies in obstetrical anesthesia, management of coagulopathies, update on epidural anesthesia, anesthesia for the pregnant patient for nonobstetrical surgery, obstetrical emergencies, blood patches, anesthesia for cesarean delivery and neonatal resuscitation.

Pain Medicine
The pain medicine track was coordinated with the leadership of James P. Rathmell, M.D., and Timothy R. Deer, M.D. This track will be offered primarily on Saturday, Sunday and Monday and will cover spinal injections, implantable pumps, spinal cord stimulation, cancer pain, complications of pain procedures, acute pain, practice management for pain, pain physiology, drug pharmacology, use of oral opioids, basic science of opioid tolerance and new developments in interventional techniques for the spine.

Neuroanesthesia
The neuroanesthesia track was coordinated with the leadership of Daniel J. Cole, M.D. This track will be primarily offered on Saturday and Sunday and topics will include neuroprotection, cerebral circulation, cervical spine trauma, carotid artery disease, brain tumors, acute brain trauma, anesthesia for spine surgery and anesthesia for neurodegenerative diseases.

Additional topics such as pediatric anesthesia, ethics, hormonal diseases, obesity, geriatrics, equipment, regional anesthesia and practice management were coordinated with the leadership of Dr. Cole. Topics will include risk management, regional anesthesia, complications of nerve blocks, postoperative nausea and vomiting, orthopedic anesthesia, preoperative testing, neonatal neurosurgery, pediatric trauma, ambulatory anesthesia, ophthalmic anesthesia, anesthesia and diabetes, difficult airways and airway equipment, statistics, mechanisms of anesthesia, anaphylaxis and drug reactions, terrorism, contraindications for regional anesthesia, bronchospasm, bariatric anesthesia, anesthesia for transplantation, anesthesia machines and circuits, geriatric patients and one lung anesthesia. 

Each lecturer has been asked to update and modify his/her materials in the oral and written presentations. ASA strives to offer the most up-to-date refresher courses of any medical society. We encourage each member attending the meeting to participate in the refresher courses and to fill out the available lecture evaluations. We also encourage any suggestions or recommendations for new topics or lecturers. This information can be forwarded to my attention at <DocTDeer@aol.com> or to Dr. Cole at <Cole.Daniel@mayo.edu>.  
We feel that the program for 2005 is one of the most outstanding in the long and storied history of ASA. I encourage all members to attend the Annual Meeting and participate in these cutting-edge presentations that will surely help to enhance your practice.