Warner, David O.

Abstract Background The American Board of Anesthesiology recently introduced the BASIC Examination, a component of its new staged examinations for primary certification, typically offered to residents at the end of their first year of clinical anesthesiology training. This analysis tested the hypothesis that the introduction of the BASIC Examination was associated with an acceleration of knowledge acquisition during the residency training period, as measured by increments in annual In-Training Examination scores. Methods In-Training Examination performance was compared longitudinally among four resident cohorts (n = 6,488) before and after the introduction of the staged system using mixed-effects models that accounted for possible covariates. Results Compared with previous cohorts in the traditional examination system, the first resident cohort in the staged system had a greater improvement in In-Training Examination scores between the first and second years of clinical anesthesiology training (by an estimated 2.0 points in scaled score on a scale of 1 to 50 [95% CI, 1.7 to 2.3]). By their second year, they had achieved a score similar to that of third-year clinical anesthesiology residents in previous cohorts. The second cohort to enter the staged system had a greater improvement of the scores between the clinical base year and the first clinical anesthesiology year, compared with the previous cohorts. Conclusions These results support the hypothesis that the introduction of the BASIC Examination is associated with accelerated knowledge acquisition in residency training and provides evidence for the value of the new staged system in promoting desired educational outcomes of anesthesiology training.

Abstract Background Exposure of young animals to general anesthesia causes neurodegeneration and lasting behavioral abnormalities; whether these findings translate to children remains unclear. This study used a population-based birth cohort to test the hypothesis that multiple, but not single, exposures to procedures requiring general anesthesia before age 3 yr are associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Methods A retrospective study cohort was assembled from children born in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from 1996 to 2000 (inclusive). Propensity matching selected children exposed and not exposed to general anesthesia before age 3 yr. Outcomes ascertained via medical and school records included learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and group-administered ability and achievement tests. Analysis methods included proportional hazard regression models and mixed linear models. Results For the 116 multiply exposed, 457 singly exposed, and 463 unexposed children analyzed, multiple, but not single, exposures were associated with an increased frequency of both learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (hazard ratio for learning disabilities = 2.17 [95% CI, 1.32 to 3.59], unexposed as reference). Multiple exposures were associated with decreases in both cognitive ability and academic achievement. Single exposures were associated with modest decreases in reading and language achievement but not cognitive ability. Conclusions These findings in children anesthetized with modern techniques largely confirm those found in an older birth cohort and provide additional evidence that children with multiple exposures are more likely to develop adverse outcomes related to learning and attention. Although a robust association was observed, these data do not determine whether anesthesia per se is causal.

Abstract Background The American Board of Anesthesiology administers written and oral examinations for its primary certification. This retrospective cohort study tested the hypothesis that the risk of a disciplinary action against a physician’s medical license is lower in those who pass both examinations than those who pass only the written examination. Methods Physicians who entered anesthesiology training from 1971 to 2011 were followed up to 2014. License actions were ascertained via the Disciplinary Action Notification Service of the Federation of State Medical Boards. Results The incidence rate of license actions was relatively stable over the study period, with approximately 2 to 3 new cases per 1,000 person-years. In multivariable models, the risk of license actions was higher in men (hazard ratio = 1.88 [95% CI, 1.66 to 2.13]) and lower in international medical graduates (hazard ratio = 0.73 [95% CI, 0.66 to 0.81]). Compared with those passing both examinations on the first attempt, those passing neither examination (hazard ratio = 3.60 [95% CI, 3.14 to 4.13]) and those passing only the written examination (hazard ratio = 3.51 [95% CI, 2.87 to 4.29]) had an increased risk of receiving an action from a state medical board. The risk was no different between the latter two groups ( P = 0.81), showing that passing the oral but not the written primary certification examination is associated with a decreased risk of subsequent license actions. For those with residency performance information available, having at least one unsatisfactory training record independently increased the risk of license actions. Conclusions These findings support the concept that an oral examination assesses domains important to physician performance that are not fully captured in a written examination.

BACKGROUND: To examine whether exposure to general anesthesia for procedures at age ≥40 years is associated with prevalent mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in the elderly. METHODS: A case–control study nested within a population-based cohort. Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents, aged 70–91 years, underwent baseline evaluations that included the Clinical Dementia Rating scale, a neurologic evaluation, and neuropsychologic testing. Individuals identified with MCI (cases) at enrollment were matched 1:2 on age, sex, education, and apolipoprotein genotype with participants who were cognitively normal at the time of the index visit. Medical records from age 40 years until the index visit were reviewed to determine exposures to general anesthesia. Conditional logistic regression, taking into account the matched set study design and adjusting for MCI risk factors, was used to assess whether exposure to anesthesia after the age of 40 years was associated with prevalent MCI. RESULTS: A total of 387 Mayo Clinic Study of Aging participants (219 males, 168 females) were diagnosed with MCI at enrollment with mean age of 81 ± 5 years. Exposure to general anesthesia after the age of 40 years was not significantly associated with prevalent MCI when analyzed as a dichotomous variable (any versus none, adjusted odds ratio, 0.97 [95% confidence interval, 0.68–1.40]) or the number of exposures (odds ratio, 1.13 [0.74–1.72], 0.81 [0.53–1.22], and 1.03 [0.67–1.58] for 1, 2–3, and ≥4 exposures, respectively, with no exposure as the reference). Similar results were obtained for exposure to anesthesia after the age of 60 years and during 5, 10, and 20 years before the first visit. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to general anesthesia for procedures at age ≥40 years was not associated with prevalent MCI in the elderly.

Objectives: Investigations of pediatric critical illness typically focus on inpatient cohorts drawn from wide referral areas and diverse healthcare systems. Cohorts amenable to investigating the full spectrum of critical illness as it develops within a community have yet to be studied in the United States. Our objective was to provide the first epidemiologic report of the incidence and presentation of pediatric critical illness within a U.S. population-based birth cohort. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: A geographically defined community (Olmsted, MN) with medical record linkage across all health systems. All ICU services are provided within a single children’s hospital. Patients: A birth cohort of children (n =9,441) born 2003–2007 in Olmsted County, MN. Measurements and Main Results: During the study period, there were a total of 15,277 ICU admissions to Mayo Clinic Children’s Hospital. A total of 577 birth cohort children accounted for 824 of these admissions during the 61,770 person-years of follow-up accumulated. Incidence of first-time ICU admission was 9.3 admits per 1,000 person-years. Admission rates were highest in the first year of life and then declined steadily. Respiratory problems were among the most common reasons for admission at any age and diagnoses reflect changes in health risk factors as children grow and develop over time. After 1 year old, a majority of children admitted have preexisting chronic comorbidities and/or prior ICU stays. In-hospital mortality occurred exclusively in children admitted prior to 5 days of age (n = 4). Seven children died after hospital discharge. Conclusions: This is the first report characterizing critical illness within a population-based birth cohort of U.S. children. The results demonstrate the changing incidence, presentation, and healthcare requirements associated with critical illness across the developmental spectrum as a population of children ages.

During the Fifth Pediatric Anesthesia Neurodevelopmental Assessment Symposium, experts and stakeholders met to present and discuss recent advances made in the study of neurodevelopmental outcomes after exposure to anesthetic drugs in infants and children. This article summarizes the update of 5 ongoing clinical studies: General Anesthesia compared to Spinal Anesthesia, Toxicity of Remifentanil and Dexmedetomidine, Mayo Anesthesia Safety in Kids, the University of California San Francisco human cohort study, and Columbia University Medical Center Neonatal Magnetic Resonance Imaging study. The purpose of this summary is to discuss the contributions and limitations of these studies, how they fit into the published literature, and what questions remain to be answered.

On April 16 and 17, 2016, the Fifth biennial Pediatric Anesthesia & Neurodevelopment Assessment (PANDA) symposium was convened at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York at Columbia University Medical Center. During the symposium, experts in the fields of anesthesiology, neuropsychology, and epidemiology were convened in a small group session to determine the level of confidence in the current clinical evidence and the next steps in anesthetic neurotoxicity clinical research. Among the participants in the discussion, there remained a lack of consensus on whether anesthetic exposure causes long-term neurodevelopmental deficits in children based on the current evidence. This causal relationship between anesthesia exposure and neurodevelopmental deficit is difficult to establish using observational data, and current and future clinical trials are critical for answering this question. It was, however, recognized that the continuum of data that is seen in studies of other toxic environmental exposures, such as lead poisoning, has not been established in the anesthetic neurotoxicity literature, specifically regarding the timing of the exposure, the dose effects, contributing perioperative conditions, or vulnerable populations. As a result, these questions may need to be addressed in observational studies to guide future clinical trials.