Anesthesiology February 2011 News Briefs

Sporting a cleaner, more modern appearance for 2011, the February issue of Anesthesiology features a study evaluating a new way of predicting postoperative risk after cardiac surgery, and also introduces two new sections for 2011.

Combination of EuroSCORE and Cardiac Troponin I Test Improves Prediction of Adverse Outcomes After Cardiac Surgery
In a study by Jean-Luc Fellahi, M.D., Ph.D. and his collaborators from Caen and Paris, France, a hypothesis was tested that simultaneous use of the predictive tool EuroSCORE and troponin I tests would improve the ability of physicians to predict adverse outcomes in patients immediately after cardiac surgery, allowing health care personnel to take preventative measures in patients who may show potential for complications.

In the EuroSCORE test, known risk factors are given weighted numbers, which are added together to give an approximate overall risk of postsurgical complications.

The troponin I test measures the amount of a biomarker in the blood, which can be used to detect heart injury or diagnose a heart attack.

Dr. Fellahi and his colleagues tried various combinations of preoperative and postoperative tests, and concluded in their study that EuroSCORE alone was not an effective predictor of poor outcome, and that preoperative troponin provided limited value in predicting outcomes in the cardiac surgical setting.

"The combination of EuroSCORE and a single postoperative troponin I measurement within 24 hours provided the best discriminative power and performance in predicting both mortality and severe cardiac morbidity after adult cardiac surgery and could be proposed as an effective combined model that improves early identification of high-risk patients," said Dr. Fellahi.

Mind to Mind
Recognizing the importance of "art" in the "art and science" of anesthesiology, 2011 saw the introduction of a creative section called "Mind to Mind." The foreword to January 2011’s inaugural essay on physician burnout reads: "Mind to Mind is a place where researched footnotes matter less than emotional footprints, and personal values matter more than statistical P values." The Anesthesiology editors hope this new section will open wider dialogues among anesthesiologists and build a stronger sense of community among the readership.

Underscoring this section’s immediate popularity among the Journal’s readership, three pieces were chosen for the February 2011 edition of Mind to Mind, including "Transient Ischemic Attack," "Our Dad’s Body Died Today," and "Puzzle of Life."

Page 2
Debuting this February, a new section of the Anesthesiology website, called "Page 2," will use a blog format in which members of the editorial board will share their perspectives on the importance to clinical practice of published Anesthesiology material and will expound upon the science behind the investigations. Page 2 will also feature articles on how readers can become better teachers and offer advice on increasing the odds of getting investigations published.