Regional Anesthesia
- Spinal, Epidural, Caudal, Combined Spinal/Epidural: Indications, Contraindications
- Premedication, Positioning, Equipment, Monitoring, Sedation
- Sites of Action
- Factors Influencing Onset, Duration, and Termination of Action
- Systemic Toxicity, Test Dose
- Complications; Precipitating Factors, Prevention, Therapy, Implications of Anticoagulants and
Platelet Inhibitors: American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA)
Guidelines
General Anesthesia
- Stages and Signs of Anesthesia; Awareness Under Anesthesia
- Techniques: Inhalational, Total Intravenous, Combined Inhalational/Intravenous
- Assessment/Identification of Difficult Airway: Anatomic Correlates, Mallampati Classification,
Range of Motion - Techniques for Managing Airway: Awake vs. Asleep, Use vs. Avoidance of Muscle
Relaxants, Drug Selection, Retrograde Intubation Techniques, ASA Difficult Airway
Algorithm - Devices: Flexible Fiberoptic, Rigid Fiberoptic, Transillumination, Laryngoscope Blades,
Alternative Intubating Devices - Alternatives and Adjuncts: Laryngeal Mask Airway (Traditional and Modified), Esophageal
Obturator Airways, Occlusive Pharyngeal Airways - Transcutaneous Or Surgical Airway: Tracheostomy, Cricothyroidotomy, Translaryngeal Or
Transtracheal Jet Ventilation - Endobronchial Intubation: Double-Lumen Endobronchial Tubes; Bronchial Blockers (Integral
to Endotracheal Tube Or Separate), Placement and Positioning Considerations,
Postoperative Considerations - Intubation and Tube Change Adjuncts: Bougies, Jet Stylettes, Soft and Rigid Tube Change
Devices; Complications - ETT Types: Tube Material (Polyvinyl Chloride, Silicone, Laser-Resistant, Silver
Impregnated, Other), Tube Tip Design (Murphy Eyes, Flexible Tip, Moveable Tip, Short-
Bevel), Cuff Design (High vs. Low Volume/Pressure, Cuffed Vs Uncuffed, Cuff Shape),
Cuff Pressure Management (Lanz Valves, Active Management, Pilot Balloon, Inflation
Valve), Specific Tube Types (Wire-Reinforced, Nasal and Oral Rae, Microlaryngeal,
Supraglottic Secretion Suctioning, Other) - Monitored Anesthesia Care and Sedation: ASA Guidelines for Sedation, Sedation Guidelines for
Non-Anesthesiologists - Intravenous Fluid Therapy During Anesthesia: Water, Electrolyte, Glucose Requirements and
Disposition, Crystalloid vs. Colloid
Postoperative Period
- Pain Drugs: Opioids, Agonist-Antagonists, Local Anesthetics, Alpha-2 Agonists,
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA)
Receptor Blockers, tricyclic antidepressants (TCA), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
(SSRI) - Routes: Oral, Subcutaneous (SC), Transcutaneous, Transmucosal, Intramuscular
(IM), Intravenous (IV), Including Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA), Epidural, Spinal,
Interpleural, Other Regional Techniques - Other Techniques: Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS), Cryotherapy,
Acupuncture, Hypnosis - Respiratory Consequences of Anesthesia and of Surgical Incisions
- Cardiovascular Consequences of General and Regional Anesthesia: Differential Diagnosis and
Treatment of Postoperative Hypertension and Hypotension - PONV: Physiology, Etiology, Risk Factors, Preventive Strategies, Use of Antacids, Histamine-2 (H2) Blockers, Metoclopramide, Transdermal Scopolamine, Droperidol, Serotonin Antagonists, Proton Pump Inhibitors, Dexamethasone, Multimodal Therapy, Acupressure/Acupuncture
- Neuromuscular Consequences: Residual Paralysis, Muscle Soreness, Recovery of Airway
Reflexes - Neurologic Consequences of Anesthesia: Confusion, Delirium, Cognitive Dysfunction, Failure to
emerge from anesthesia
Special Problems/Issues in Anesthesiology
- Physician Impairment Or Disability: Substance Abuse, Fatigue, Aging, Visual and Auditory
Impairment, American Disabilities Act - Ethics, Practice Management, and Medicolegal Issues: Professionalism and Licensure, Ethics, Advance Directives/Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Orders; Suspended DNR, Patient Privacy Issues, e.g., Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- Informed consent (principles, components)
- Patient Safety: Medication Errors (Assessment and Prevention), Disclosure of Errors to Patients
