Hosted by RAPM Editor Eric Schwenk, MD, this episode of RAPM Focus welcomes RAPM Associate Editor Mark Bicket, MD, PhD, and medical student Sama Ramo following the recent publication of their original research paper, “ Risk Factors for Persistent Postoperative Opioid Use: An Entity Distinct from Chronic Postsurgical Pain, ” included in the February 2025 special edition of RAPM, titled “ Tackling the Challenge of Chronic Postsurgical Pain. ” Persistent postoperative opioid use results when patien...
Feb 13, 2025•36 min
This episode of RAPM Focus introduces something new—an episode generated completely by artificial intelligence, specifically Google Notebook. As part of RAPM’s commitment to exploring innovative ways to deliver content, RAPM is trialing this approach and would love to hear your feedback. This AI-generated episode is centered around an original research paper first published in RAPM in November 2024, “ Standardizing nomenclature in regional anesthesia: an ASRA-ESRA Delphi consensus study of upper...
Jan 17, 2025•13 min
In this episode of RAPM Focus, Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, is thrilled to welcome Kesavan Sadacharam, MD, and Allison Fernandez, MD, following the April 2024 publication of their original research paper, “Multisite prospective study of perioperative pain management practices for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in adolescents: Society for Pediatric Anesthesia Improvement Network (SPAIN) Project Report.” Unwarranted variation in health care refers to differences in health care deliv...
Dec 13, 2024•45 min
In this episode of RAPM Focus, Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, is thrilled to welcome Laura Graham, PhD, MPH, and Sesh Mudumbai, MD, MS, following the April 2024 publication of their brief technical report, “ Use of natural language processing method to identify regional anesthesia from clinical notes .” One definition of medicine is the science and practice of the diagnosis treatment in prevention of disease. Science itself involves diagnoses and relies on the process of assessing data to dete...
Nov 14, 2024•33 min
In this special episode, RAPM Focus takes a break from its usual format of discussing specific research projects to discuss instead how research in health care is increasingly vital yet often hindered by escalating costs and time constraints. Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, discusses these challenges with Alexander (Xan) Abess, MD, and Jonathan Weed, MD. Traditional, large scale, randomized controlled trials are resource intensive, making them challenging for clinicians to conduct. As a result,...
Oct 17, 2024•41 min
In this episode of RAPM Focus, Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, is delighted to be joined by Alexander Stone, MD, and Kamen Vlassakov, MD, following the April 2024 publication of their original research paper, “ Anesthesia Start Time Documentation Accuracy where Peripheral Nerve Block is the Primary Anesthetic. ” Understanding the intricacies of billing is crucial for anesthesiologists in all practice settings, not just in private practice. Proper billing practices not only ensure fair compensat...
Sep 24, 2024•34 min
In this episode of RAPM Focus, Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, is delighted to be joined by Ryan D’Souza, MD, and Nasir Hussain, MD, following the February 2024 publication of their review, “ Methodological and Statistical Characteristics of Meta-Analyses on Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review .” Both of these anesthesiologists are prolific in their research and contributions to the regional anesthesia and pain medicine community. Best practice advisories and policies ...
Aug 22, 2024•41 min
In RAPM Focus’s latest podcast series, Article Reads, Alopi Patel, MD, narrates “Artificial intelligence and regional anesthesiology education curriculum development: navigating the digital noise” by Kristopher M Schroeder and Nabil Elkassabany. Originally published in Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine in June 2024, this daring discourse is now available in podcast format for an all new RAPM experience. Artificial intelligence (AI) has demonstrated a disruptive ability to enhance and trans...
Jul 24, 2024•10 min
In this episode of RAPM Focus, Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, sits down with Michael Barrington, MD, to discuss best practice advisories and policies with systematic reviews. Best practice advisories and policies tend to stem from the results of systematic reviews and metanalysis, thus the stakes are very high for a journal to ensure that the results are meaningful and valid. As part of a RAPM initiative to establish education and standards for researchers interested in submitting a systematic...
Jul 19, 2024•37 min
In this episode of RAPM Focus, Associate Editor Ed Mariano, MD, MAS, FASA substitutes for Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, to discuss the diverse publishing landscapes in the scientific field with Executive Editor Ruth Landau, MD. Dr. Mariano is a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Landau is the Virginia Apgar professor and the Chief of Obstetric Anesthesiology at Columbia University. She is also the director of the Center of Precision Medicine within the department and a p...
Jun 18, 2024•47 min
In this episode of RAPM Focus, Dr. Brian Sites is delighted to support the work of Dr. Ottokar Stundner, MD, and colleagues by discussing the use of liposomal bupivacaine trends following the March 2024 publication of “Crystallization of mixtures of local anesthetics with and without select adjuvants: a semiquantitative light microscopy analysis.” Dr. Studener completed his anesthesia residency in Salzburg, Austria, as well as a research fellowship in regional anesthesia and perioperative outcom...
May 20, 2024•36 min
In this episode of RAPM Focus, Dr. Brian Sites discusses the perioperative use of hallucinogens with Trent Emerick, MD, MBA, following the February 2023 publication of Dr. Emerick’s paper, “Perioperative considerations for patients exposed to hallucinogens.” Dr. Trent Emerick is currently an associate professor in the departments of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine and bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and School of Medicine. He was a fellowship director for ...
Apr 16, 2024•32 min
In this episode of RAPM Focus, Dr. Brian Sites sits down with Daryl Henshaw, MD, and Christopher Edwards, MD, to discuss “Evaluating residual anti-Xa levels following discontinuation of treatment-dose enoxaparin in patients presenting for elective surgery: a prospective observational trial,” first published in June 2023 . Dr. Daryl Henshaw completed his medical school residency in regional anesthesia and acute pain fellowship training at Wake Forest. He is the associate vice chair of clinical op...
Mar 25, 2024•33 min
In this podcast episode, RAPM Editor-In-Chief Brian D. Sites discusses the massive growth opportunities in the exciting future of pain medicine. Sites highlights the importance that “anesthesiologists help define the value of medical interventions that we offer for pain management.” As RAPM begins to receive more submissions relating to costs, Dr. Sites stresses how critical it is to understand how costs are factored into the interventions offered in health care, as costs can be prohibited. Dr. ...
Feb 16, 2024•21 min
Data describing the relationship between specific traumatic injuries and opioid use is lacking, which is why RAPM is so delighted to support the work of Matthew Mauck, MD, PhD, and colleagues. In this episode of RAPM Focus, RAPM Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, discusses “Incidence of persistent opioid use following traumatic injury with Dr. Mauck, first published in June 2023 . Dr. Mauck is an assistant professor and vice chair of research for the University of North Carolina’s department of an...
Feb 14, 2024•32 min
RAPM Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, joins Hsiangkuo Yua, MD, PhD, and Aniket Natekar, MD, two coauthors of “Real-world study of intranasal ketamine for use in patients with refractory chronic migraine,” first published in May 2023 . Dr. Hsiangkuo Yuan received his medical degree from National Yang-Ming University in Taipei, Taiwan, and a PhD in biomedical engineering at Duke University. He joined Jefferson Headache Center in 2014 as a research fellow, then completed a neurology residency and h...
Jan 22, 2024•32 min
RAPM Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, joins Lei Xu, MD, and Ed Mariano, MD, MAS, FASA, FASRA, two coauthors of “Rate of occurrence of respiratory complications in patients who undergo shoulder arthroplasty with a continuous interscalene brachial plexus block and associated risk factors,” first published in May 2023. Dr. Xu is a clinical assistant professor in the department of anesthesiology at Stanford. She received her medical degree from Stanford before completing her residency in anesthesiol...
Dec 22, 2023•40 min
RAPM Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, joins Daniela Bravo, MD, and Julián Aliste, MD, two co-authors of “Randomized clinical trial comparing pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block and periarticular local anesthetic infiltration for total hip artholasty,” first published in February 2023 . In this episode, they discuss the explosion of fascia PENG blocks in the past decade. Dr. Bravo is an assistant professor in the department of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine at the University of Chile...
Dec 21, 2023•39 min
RAPM Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, joins Mercy A Udoji, MD, CMQ, FASA and Sudheer Potru, DO, FASA, FASAM, two coauthors of “Violence in the pain clinic: the hidden pandemic,” first published in August 2023 rapm-august 2023.pdf . Dr. Udoji is an associate professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Potru is a triple-board-certified anesthesiologist, interventional pain physician, and addiction medicine specialist with strong interest in both opioid...
Oct 23, 2023•33 min
RAPM Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, joins Anjali A. Dixi, MD, the senior author of “Hospital-level variability in regional nerve block administration by race for total knee arthroplasty,” first published in December 2022 ( https://rapm.bmj.com/content/early/2022/12/13/rapm-2022-104028 ). Dr. Dixi is from the Stanford University School of Medicine, in Stanford, CA.
Oct 09, 2023•27 min
The political, professional, and cultural implications of using cannabinoids remain controversial despite its increased prevalence over the last 20 years. The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine established a working group in November 2020 to review the evidence and knowledge gaps around cannabis use in the perioperative period and develop clinical recommendations for the management of patients using cannabis in this setting. Authors Shalini Shah, MD, MBA, and Hance Clarke,...
Sep 13, 2023•38 min•Ep. 18
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was especially challenging for vulnerable populations, such as those with chronic long-term health conditions, mental health conditions, and substance use disorders. Lockdowns and fear of spread led to barriers for patients whether they were accessing methadone through opioid treatment programs or being prescribed buprenorphine. A systematic review first published online in October 2022 sought to identify whether there was a change in opioid use and misuse out...
Aug 01, 2023•33 min•Ep. 17
In November of 2021, the Regional versus General Anesthesia for Promoting Independence after Hip Fracture (REGAIN) trial was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. This study was a pragmatic randomized superiority trial to evaluate spinal anesthesia as compared with general anesthesia in 1,600 patients. The authors concluded that “spinal anesthesia for hip fracture surgery in older adults was not superior to general anesthesia with respect to survival and recovery of ambulation at 60 ...
Jun 26, 2023•42 min•Ep. 16
Proponents of fascial plane blocks argue that their value can be found in opioid reduction and improvement of pain scores. On the other hand, critics argue that the effect size tends to be very small, amounting to a placebo. To address these conflicting ideas, a recent study examined the role of quadratus blocks and analgesia for laparoscopic hemicolectomy. In this month’s RAPM Focus, Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, joins Jens Borglum, MD, PhD, the senior author of “ Anterior quadratus lumborum...
Jun 22, 2023•36 min•Ep. 15
Guidelines hold great importance in pain medicine. With many interventional procedures, there is some evidence for efficacy, but wide variation in study results due to differences in technique, interpretation, and implementation. In this month’s RAPM Focus, Executive Editor Chad Brummett, MD, joins Steven Cohen, MD, the senior author of “ Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for cervical spine (facet) joint pain from a multispecialty international working group ,” first published in No...
Jun 19, 2023•27 min•Ep. 14
For interventional procedures that involve implanting devices or ablating tissues, it is common for patients to undergo prognostic tests to determine if they are responders prior to moving on to permanent procedures. However, definitions of responders and the number of prognostic tests necessary has caused some confusion. In this month’s RAPM Focus, Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, joins David Provenzano, MD, and Jozef Leech, to discuss their study “Evaluation of lumbar medial branch blocks: how...
Mar 23, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 13
The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as: “An unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage.” Among many other variables, mental health conditions play a critical role in determining the emotional experience. Thus, it is very reasonable to hypothesize that baseline anxiety, for instance, may influence pain and opioid prescribing. In this month’s RAPM Focus, Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, ...
Feb 24, 2023•38 min•Ep. 12
The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as: “An unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage. Pain is both a disease and a symptom.” The inclusion of the word emotional in the definition alludes to the fact that consciousness is part of the pain pathway. Despite the knowledge that neurocognitive aspects of human psychology are intimately related to pain, very little research exists exami...
Feb 14, 2023•34 min•Ep. 11
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are the main drivers of policy, evidence-based guidelines, and funding decisions, but many of them are fraught with errors, and the resources needed to peer-review them are massive. A recent systematic review examined the quality of the current published meta-analyses in order to inform the design and reporting of future studies. In this month’s RAPM Focus, Editor-in-Chief Brian Sites, MD, joins John Kramer MSc, PhD, the senior author of “Quality of meta-anal...
Dec 30, 2022•35 min•Ep. 10
In surgical care worldwide, there has been a growing trend towards enhanced recovery with the emphasis on early mobility, avoidance of unnecessary procedures and drug-induced side effects, and faster return of normal gastrointestinal function, with the end result of shorter hospital stay. It’s natural to assume that regional anesthesiology and acute pain medicine would play a central role in enhanced recovery protocols for all of the well-described benefits. However, the base evidence is continu...
Nov 28, 2022•34 min•Ep. 9
