APSF News & Updates
Anesthesiology Organizations Express Concern for Patients Harmed, Reaffirm Safety of Spinal Anesthesia
August 21, 2026
In response to reported medication errors that harmed patients in Nashville, Tennessee, the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP), the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today reaffirmed that spinal anesthesia remains a safe and essential anesthetic technique when administered with appropriate medication.
Routine Preoperative Cognitive Assessment to Improve Brain Health in Older Surgical Patients: Insights From an Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Survey
July 20, 2026
Cognitive impairment is common in older surgical patients, affecting an estimated 37%–50% of this population. Despite its prevalence, cognitive impairment is frequently unrecognized and increases the risk of perioperative neurocognitive…
Closed-loop systems for automated hypnotic drug delivery during general anaesthesia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
June 15, 2026
Maintaining an appropriate depth of anesthesia during surgery can be challenging; excessively deep anesthesia can potentially result in intraoperative hemodynamic instability or postoperative delirium/cognitive dysfunction, while inadequate anesthesia can lead…
The Association Between Surgeon-Anesthesiologist Dyad Familiarity and Operative Mortality: A Retrospective Study at a Large Academic Cardiac Surgery Program
June 8, 2026
Effective teamwork is especially central to patient safety during cardiac surgery, requiring close coordination between the surgeon and anesthesiologist to optimize perioperative outcomes. This retrospective cohort study examined whether the…
Ketamine or Etomidate for Tracheal Intubation of Critically Ill Adults
May 18, 2026
The choice of induction agent during emergency tracheal intubation of critically ill adults has important patient safety implications, including the risks of death and peri-intubation hemodynamic instability. Previous observational studies…
Effect of S-Ketamine on Postoperative Delirium in Elderly Patients Undergoing Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial
May 11, 2026
Postoperative delirium (POD) is common among elderly patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) under neuraxial anesthesia, with a reported incidence of 11–20.7%. POD is associated…
