Enjoy the Power-packed fall Edition!
By Anjana Kundu, MBBS, MD, DA, ABIHM and Rita Agarwal, MD, FAAP
The fall edition of the newsletter is packed with exciting events, articles, updates, literature review and reviews from pertinent sessions at the ASA and SPA meetings held in Chicago, October 21-26, 2016. We are also marching into our own Society’s elections. I wouldn’t be surprised, if (like me) you feel somewhat taxed by the controversies from our Presidential elections. However, as so eloquently stated in the President’s message by Dr. Kost-Byerly, this is your opportunity to shape the future of our society by actively participating in the selection of the leaders of SPPM for the next cycle. We bring you information on the elections and candidate Bios for the SPPM executive Board and the Board of Directors. Please exercise your right as the society members to elect your representatives.
The problem of prescription opioids and abuse in the United States is epic and certainly has gained not only attention from the general population, but also from administrators, leaders, politicians and relevant societies, who have now focused more efforts intently and deliberately towards understanding, preventing and treating this problem. In this edition of the newsletter, you will find an excellent article by Dr. Rae Brown that encourages a shift in the perspective of how opioid addiction and abuse are evaluated and therefore the appropriate management would also require a shift in the paradigm for how the treatment options are directed. As the Chair for the FDA Advisory Committee on Anesthetics and Analgesics, Dr. Rae Brown, also shares the highlights from the joint meeting of the FDA Advisory Committee on Anesthetics and Analgesics, Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee and the Pediatric Advisory Committee held September 15-16, 2016 in Silver Spring, Maryland. The advisory bodies came together to discuss the current method of evaluating opioids to be labeled for use in children, aide in striking a balance between providing adequate and safe pain control in pediatric patients while mitigating the risk of this special class of drugs in pediatrics.
In alignment with supporting the clinicians’ efforts to ensure risk mitigation for opioid abuse and enhancing safe and effective analgesia for our patients, we have also included a synopsis by Dr. Sophie Pestieau from this year’s ASA annual meeting session on the Recent CDC guidelines and FDA action on the opioid epidemic in the US. Additionally, there’s also an excellent review from the one-day fall annual meeting of SPA held on October 21, 2016 prior to the ASA annual meeting, of the pertinent sessions by Dr. Gee Mei Tan and Dr. Pestieau.
As the use of regional anesthesia continues to gain momentum, an article by Drs. Harshad Gurnaney and Devika Singh addressing role of simulation in education about the Local Anesthetic Systemic Toxicity (LAST) is very pertinent. They share their program and its application as well as the lessons learnt in implementation of this program with our members. As promised, this is a knowledge-packed edition, we also bring you a review of the pediatric pain literature published in the first half of 2016, very well synthesized in bite-sized packs for us in case we did not have the opportunity to read all the articles ourselves.
Another delectable treat for your intellectual and academic appetite is offered by Dr. Stephen Hays, in the form of an extremely enticing preview of the educational program for the 4th Annual SPPM meeting in Austin, Texas, to be held on March 2, 2017. We promise this is a meeting that you wouldn’t want to miss for its educational offerings, hands on workshops, as well as for the opportunity to re-connect or meet new colleagues, contribute and join committees and much more!
As always, we urge you and invite you to join, contribute and take an active role in the growth of your society, the SPPM. Please visit and post on the society’s Facebook page, review updated information, news articles, upcoming events and news items or discussions or relevant topics. We encourage you to frequent our Facebook page, leave comments, suggestions, questions and start to discussions, or just check it out for fun.
We would love to publish your articles, reviews, case reports as your contributions to the newsletter. Bring us your ideas, suggestions, case reports, reviews, interesting articles, musings, or thoughts on additional topics of interest to the SPPM Communications Committee. Stay connected, and stay engaged!
We hope you enjoy this edition of the newsletter as much as we enjoyed putting together this phenomenal package of knowledge. Wishing you all a very Happy Holiday Season ahead!
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at:
- Rita Agarwal, MD, FAAP: [email protected]
- Anjana Kundu, MBBS, MD, ABIHM: [email protected]
