- Email: [email protected]
Case conference: An anesthesia journal first
Journal
of
Cardiothoracic Anesthesia VOL II, NO 1
FEBRUARY
1988
EDITORIALS Case Conference:
T
An Anesthesia
HIS ISSUE begins the second year for the Journal of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia. The first year was an overwhelming success in all areas with more articles of high quality, subscribers, and advertisers than anticipated by the Editorial Board. The major goals of the Journal were fully accomplished. These goals included publishing clinically oriented articles that linked the specialties of cardiology, cardiac surgery, and cardiac anesthesiology; expanding and consolidating information in the subspecialty of cardiothoracic anesthesia; and, introducing new educational forums for anesthesiologists. The majority of articles submitted during the first year were in the field of cardiac anesthesia. During the second year, we hope to publish more articles in the fields of thoracic and vascular anesthesia, and emphasize the application of cardiac surgical studies to the cardiac patient undergoing non-cardiac surgery. The new educational sections of the Journal included the Case Conference, Pro & Con, and the most wide ranging Literature Review of all journals pertinent to cardiothoracic anesthesia. In addition, Book Reviews covered topics related to cardiothoracic anesthesia, but not anesthesia books per se. Earl Wynands, MD, deserves credit for organizing a stimulating and controversial Pro and Con section with experts defending various viewpoints on “hot topics.” Carol Lake, MD, reviewed all relevant journals to find the dozen or so key articles for each issue that cardiothoracic anesthesiologists should not miss. Previously, this type of review took me hours to do on a monthly basis, but now can easily be accomplished in minutes by reading her section. This is a major contribution to all of us for which she deserves our gratitude. The Case Conference section of the Journal fully deserves recognition for being the
Journal First
outstanding new educational forum for cardiothoracic anesthesiologists. Never before have anesthesiologists had this type of material presented in one of our journals, even though it has been highly successful in different forms in internal medicine journals. Alan Jay Schwartz, MD, deserves the full credit for originating the idea for the Case Conferences, designing the format, and editing the material published during the first year. He and Michael Howie, MD, recruited the material from leading cardiac anesthesia groups around the country. During the past year, the cases ranged from the straightforward management of a patient with an atria1 septal defect undergoing a tonsillectomy, to the extreme complexity of a cardiac transplant patient with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. Each case was presented by an anesthesiology group and discussed by anesthesiologists, cardiologists, and cardiac surgeons from the same or another leading institution. These articles allow the reader of the Journal to see how other anesthesiologists handle complex cases, read what other experts think of the case management, and decide for themselves how they would handle a similar problem. Cases have been accompanied by pertinent figures, tables, laboratory data, and extensive references in order to present the full clinical picture and alternative ideas from the literature. This presentation allows for a much more detailed and thorough discussion than found in the standard case report, and a much better opportunity for the reader to “participate” in the management of the case. I believe the Case Conference can make a significant contribution to the continued training of residents, fellows, and attendings in the fields of cardiac, thoracic, and vascular anesthesia. To further aid in making this section of the Journal
Journal of Cadiothoracic Anesthesia, Vol 2, No 1 (February), 1988: pp l-2
1
2
useful for educational purposes, the publishers have perforated the pages so the Case Conference can easily be torn out of the Journal and used for teaching residents or students. In addition, multiple copies in lots of 100 can be obtained at low cost for distribution and used at departmental or divisional conferences. Dr Schwartz will be joined by William Lell, MD, in recruiting and editing material for the Case Conference during this next year. They will introduce further innovations to the Case Conference, and seek contributions from leading cardiothoracic anesthesia groups in the United States and abroad. If you have interesting cases from your institution that would make good contributions to the Case Conference, please contact Dr Schwartz (Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA), Dr Lell (University of Alabama at Birmingham), or my office. We will be happy to work with you to develop the entire article and obtain commentaries from inside or outside your institution. The Information for Authors now has special instructions for the Case
JOEL A. KAPLAN
Conference Section. Please review them carefully and contact us if you have any questions. We welcome the participation of many of you in this unique teaching experience. Once again, I would like to thank all of my friends and colleagues who have contributed to the overwhelming success our Journal has enjoyed this first year. Based on this success, I predict other anesthesia subspecialty journals will inevitably be introduced as has happened in other specialties such as internal medicine. The contributions of all the authors are gratefully acknowledged and critical to the success of the Journal. I would like to encourage ail readers and contributors to the Journal to feel free to contact members of the Editorial Board with your comments, suggestions, recommendations, etc., for further innovations or improvements in the Journal.
Joel A. Kaplan, MD Editor-in-Chief
of
Cardiothoracic Anesthesia VOL II, NO 1
FEBRUARY
1988
EDITORIALS Case Conference:
T
An Anesthesia
HIS ISSUE begins the second year for the Journal of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia. The first year was an overwhelming success in all areas with more articles of high quality, subscribers, and advertisers than anticipated by the Editorial Board. The major goals of the Journal were fully accomplished. These goals included publishing clinically oriented articles that linked the specialties of cardiology, cardiac surgery, and cardiac anesthesiology; expanding and consolidating information in the subspecialty of cardiothoracic anesthesia; and, introducing new educational forums for anesthesiologists. The majority of articles submitted during the first year were in the field of cardiac anesthesia. During the second year, we hope to publish more articles in the fields of thoracic and vascular anesthesia, and emphasize the application of cardiac surgical studies to the cardiac patient undergoing non-cardiac surgery. The new educational sections of the Journal included the Case Conference, Pro & Con, and the most wide ranging Literature Review of all journals pertinent to cardiothoracic anesthesia. In addition, Book Reviews covered topics related to cardiothoracic anesthesia, but not anesthesia books per se. Earl Wynands, MD, deserves credit for organizing a stimulating and controversial Pro and Con section with experts defending various viewpoints on “hot topics.” Carol Lake, MD, reviewed all relevant journals to find the dozen or so key articles for each issue that cardiothoracic anesthesiologists should not miss. Previously, this type of review took me hours to do on a monthly basis, but now can easily be accomplished in minutes by reading her section. This is a major contribution to all of us for which she deserves our gratitude. The Case Conference section of the Journal fully deserves recognition for being the
Journal First
outstanding new educational forum for cardiothoracic anesthesiologists. Never before have anesthesiologists had this type of material presented in one of our journals, even though it has been highly successful in different forms in internal medicine journals. Alan Jay Schwartz, MD, deserves the full credit for originating the idea for the Case Conferences, designing the format, and editing the material published during the first year. He and Michael Howie, MD, recruited the material from leading cardiac anesthesia groups around the country. During the past year, the cases ranged from the straightforward management of a patient with an atria1 septal defect undergoing a tonsillectomy, to the extreme complexity of a cardiac transplant patient with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. Each case was presented by an anesthesiology group and discussed by anesthesiologists, cardiologists, and cardiac surgeons from the same or another leading institution. These articles allow the reader of the Journal to see how other anesthesiologists handle complex cases, read what other experts think of the case management, and decide for themselves how they would handle a similar problem. Cases have been accompanied by pertinent figures, tables, laboratory data, and extensive references in order to present the full clinical picture and alternative ideas from the literature. This presentation allows for a much more detailed and thorough discussion than found in the standard case report, and a much better opportunity for the reader to “participate” in the management of the case. I believe the Case Conference can make a significant contribution to the continued training of residents, fellows, and attendings in the fields of cardiac, thoracic, and vascular anesthesia. To further aid in making this section of the Journal
Journal of Cadiothoracic Anesthesia, Vol 2, No 1 (February), 1988: pp l-2
1
2
useful for educational purposes, the publishers have perforated the pages so the Case Conference can easily be torn out of the Journal and used for teaching residents or students. In addition, multiple copies in lots of 100 can be obtained at low cost for distribution and used at departmental or divisional conferences. Dr Schwartz will be joined by William Lell, MD, in recruiting and editing material for the Case Conference during this next year. They will introduce further innovations to the Case Conference, and seek contributions from leading cardiothoracic anesthesia groups in the United States and abroad. If you have interesting cases from your institution that would make good contributions to the Case Conference, please contact Dr Schwartz (Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA), Dr Lell (University of Alabama at Birmingham), or my office. We will be happy to work with you to develop the entire article and obtain commentaries from inside or outside your institution. The Information for Authors now has special instructions for the Case
JOEL A. KAPLAN
Conference Section. Please review them carefully and contact us if you have any questions. We welcome the participation of many of you in this unique teaching experience. Once again, I would like to thank all of my friends and colleagues who have contributed to the overwhelming success our Journal has enjoyed this first year. Based on this success, I predict other anesthesia subspecialty journals will inevitably be introduced as has happened in other specialties such as internal medicine. The contributions of all the authors are gratefully acknowledged and critical to the success of the Journal. I would like to encourage ail readers and contributors to the Journal to feel free to contact members of the Editorial Board with your comments, suggestions, recommendations, etc., for further innovations or improvements in the Journal.
Joel A. Kaplan, MD Editor-in-Chief