anesthesia

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Major Insurer Nixes Anesthesia Cap After Backlash

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield had placed time limit on anesthesia coverage during surgery

(Newser) - A major health insurer has nixed a planned policy shift regarding a cap it placed on anesthesia coverage after intense public backlash against the plan. NPR reports on the 180 by Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, which had initially announced it would no longer pay for coverage for anesthesia use...

HHS to Hospitals: Stop Pelvic Exams Without Patient Consent

Agency letter warns hospitals could lose Medicare funding if they don't comply

(Newser) - The Department of Health and Human Services has come out firing against a practice it says violates the privacy and dignity of patients in health care settings across America. The New York Times reports that on Monday, the federal agency sent out a letter to the nation's med schools...

Zoo: We've 'Never Experienced an Accident Like This'

Mila, a Siberian tiger at Colorado's Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, suffered injury under anesthesia

(Newser) - There are thought to be roughly 1,000 Siberian tigers in the world, the majority of those held in captivity. Now, there's one fewer. A critically endangered Siberian tiger held at a Colorado zoo died in a "freak accident" Friday during preparations for a dental procedure, ABC News...

Popular Weight-Loss Drugs May Carry an Unexpected Risk

Anesthesiologists say patients on them may not have empty stomachs needed for unrelated surgeries

(Newser) - Patients who take blockbuster drugs like Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss may face life-threatening complications if they need surgery or other procedures that require empty stomachs for anesthesia, per the AP . Anesthesiologists in the US and Canada say they've seen growing numbers of patients on the weight-loss drugs...

Trial to Begin in Dentist's 'Depraved Heart' Murder Case

James Ryan is accused of supplying his young girlfriend with anesthesia drugs

(Newser) - Jury selection begins Monday in a high-profile murder case in Maryland involving a dentist accused of supplying his girlfriend with anesthesia drugs he took from his office, reports the Washington Post . Defense lawyers for James Ryan, now 50, will argue that he didn't kill 25-year-old Sarah Harris but that...

He Broke His Shin, Ended Up in a Vegetative State

Simple leg surgery went terribly wrong for Texas man, whose family was awarded $21M

(Newser) - Just over five years ago, engineering student Carlos David Castro Rojas, then 27 years old, went into Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas for surgery on a fractured shin. He has been in a vegetative state since, unable to communicate or perform simple tasks like feeding himself. A jury has...

3-Year-Old Dies After Having Teeth Pulled

Young Wichita patient's heart rate slowed while under sedation

(Newser) - Nancy Valenzuela said she didn't know anything was wrong until she saw her son taken out to an ambulance. They were at a dental office last week in Wichita, where Abiel Valenzuela Zapata, 3, was having teeth pulled after a gum infection. He died at a hospital, WBAY reports....

Doctor Accused of Poisoning 24 Patients

Anesthesiologist Frederic Pechier is accused in France

(Newser) - A French doctor is accused of poisoning two dozen surgery patients—nine of whom died—in order to make himself look good. Anesthesiologist Frederic Pechier, charged in seven poisonings in 2017, is now suspected in 17 new cases in which patients at two private clinics in Besançon went into...

Lawsuit Alleges Docs Gave C-Section Without Anesthesia

Delphina Mota claims her surgery went forward after the anesthesiologist couldn't be found

(Newser) - A California mom says she was given a c-section without anesthesia. A lawsuit filed by Delphina Mota claims she was in labor last year when doctors at an Oceanside hospital were unable to detect a fetal heartbeat, forcing them to perform emergency surgery. However, the suit claims the anesthesiologist on...

Man to Be Executed in a Way Unlike Any Other US Inmate

Etomidate has never been used before in a lethal injection here

(Newser) - Florida hasn't put anyone to death since January 2016. That's slated to change Thursday, along with one other thing: the drug cocktail used to do so. Mark James Asay, 53, is scheduled to die by lethal injection, with the increasingly difficult to obtain anesthetic midazolam being replaced by...

4-Year-Old Boy Dies While Under Anesthesia at Dentist

'I've never heard of a child losing their life at a dentist'

(Newser) - A mother in Washington state is searching for answers after her 4-year-old son died Friday following a routine dental procedure, KATU reports. Mykel Peterson didn't like the dentist. Thmeka Curry tells KGW her son was on the autism spectrum and had a hard time keeping his mouth open. That'...

Docs Say iPads Work Like Sedatives for Kids Pre-Surgery

The non-pharmacological approach appears to work as well as, if not better than, sedatives

(Newser) - For kids at least, tablets are as good as sedatives. So report doctors in a press release after presenting their findings at this year’s World Congress of Anaesthesiologists. The team studied 4- to 10-year-olds prior to surgeries and found that the decreased anxiety levels of those given midazolam (a...

Anesthesia Now Required in Utah Abortions After 20 Weeks

To 'minimize any pain that may be caused to an unborn child'

(Newser) - Women who receive an abortion in Utah after they've reached the 20th week of their pregnancy can expect to do so heavily sedated: On Monday, Gov. Gary Herbert signed into law a bill requiring anesthesia for patients who reach this mark, USA Today reports. The "Protecting Unborn Children"...

Anesthesia May Harm Young Kids' Brains
Anesthesia May Harm
Young Kids' Brains
study says
Jun 9, 2015 1:38 PM CDT

Anesthesia May Harm Young Kids' Brains

Study finds lower intelligence, language development

(Newser) - A new study out of the University of Cincinnati suggests that kids who need general anesthesia before the age of 4 might suffer the consequences years later with lower IQs. In the study published in Pediatrics, researchers looked at 106 kids ages 5 to 18, half of whom had surgery...

Study Delves Into Horrors of Waking Up During Surgery

Finds that the worst part for many patients is the paralysis

(Newser) - "It felt as though nothing would ever work again—as though the anesthetist had removed everything apart from my soul." That's a quote from a woman who woke up during dental surgery some 15 years ago but was unable to move because of the paralyzing drugs she...

Dentists See Rising Tooth Decay in Preschoolers

Cavities on the rise, along with anesthesia use: NYT

(Newser) - Gone are the days of visiting the kiddie dentist as a tot to get a cavity or two filled: These days, an increasing number of preschoolers are getting knocked out with general anesthesia so dentists can fix extensive problems, in procedures that cost parents anywhere from $2,000 to $5,...

Lawyers for Doc: Michael Jackson Killed Himself

Sleepless pop star administered lethal dose of drug, defense will argue

(Newser) - Michael Jackson, foiled in his quest for sleep despite the use of a powerful anesthetic, gave himself the drug overdose that killed him, Conrad Murray's lawyers plan to argue. The pop legend's personal physician, who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, will contend that Jackson was addicted to Propofol and...

Usher Wife Was in Coma After Liposuction Heart Attack

She's recovering now with family at her side

(Newser) - Usher's wife was in a coma following a heart attack during liposuction surgery, according to the latest details to emerge in the medical emergency at a Brazilian hospital, reports Stuff.co.nz. Tameka Foster went into cardiac and respiratory arrest as she was being anesthetized, Brazilian papers are reporting. Doctors...

Reuse of Syringes at Nev. Clinic Triggers Health Alarm

Practice may have spread hepatitis, HIV

(Newser) - Six people with serious cases of hepatitis are just the beginning of what's expected to be a major health problem after a Las Vegas clinic gambled with the lives of tens of thousands of patients by reusing syringes, reports AP. The practice may have exposed patients to HIV and could...

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