California Society of Anesthesiologists

CSA News

Concerns Regarding the Single Operator Model of Sedation in Young Children

The need to have practitioners that can quickly recognize the signs of deeper levels of sedation and have the skills, equipment, and support personnel to rescue the child from potential adverse responses to these unintended levels of sedation is critical.

Anthem gets flak for anesthesia coverage policy

Doctors in California are raising the alarm over a recent policy change from Anthem that they say could harm patients undergoing cataract surgery. The policy categorizes monitored anesthesia care as “not medically necessary” during routine cataract surgery, according to the California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, the California Society of Anesthesiologists and the California Medical Association.

Botox injections may relieve migraine pain in children, adolescents

Kids and teens receiving Botox injections every 12 weeks over a five-year period had improvements in their frequency, duration and intensity of migraines. The participants in the study were between the ages of 8 and 17 with chronic migraines — defined as 15 migraines per month or having experienced migraines eight to 30 days a month.

Opioids Often Not the Answer to Post-Surgery Pain, Discomfort, Note Physician Anesthesiologists

It’s best to limit opioids or avoid them altogether, opting for alternatives to manage pain and discomfort, recommends the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

Strange Daze Podcast

Strange Daze is a bi-weekly podcast from the creators of Straight Talk MD, hosted by anesthesiologist Frank Sweeny. Each episode fuses narrative storytelling with science as our host examines a real case of a surgery or a procedure that went terribly wrong and dissects out why.