From The Editor's Desk

David E. Beck

Continuing with our nonthemed issues, this quarter the Editorial Board has again assembled a diverse group of articles that provide something of interest to our varied readership. We begin with an editorial by one of our senior physicians, Dr Edward Frohlich, who discusses what we know and do not know about generic drugs.

In our ever-expanding group practice model, patient handoffs are a common occurrence. Dr Jayaswal and colleagues from the Ochsner Anesthesiology Department evaluate the safety of handoffs between anesthesia providers. Their findings are certainly relevant to other specialties. Another aspect of our evolving practice is the expansion of electronic programs and records. Drs Douglas and Ritter describe the implementation of an anesthesia information management system in the Ochsner hospital. As the Ochsner system transitions to a new systemwide electronic medical records system, their experience will be invaluable.

Those of us with ties to New Orleans have recent memories of the impact of environmental disasters. We received help from many sources, and many of our colleagues continue that tradition by helping others. One of those is Dr Richard Vinroot. The Ochsner Journal is pleased to aid the institution's support of this type of activity. Dr Vinroot's description of his work in Haiti and Ochsner's support are an inspiration to all of us.

Next, we have a description of a surgical technique that typifies the cutting-edge work that occurs on a daily basis at Ochsner. This is followed by a case report of an unusual tachycardia in a pediatric patient with Marfan syndrome.

The use of less invasive therapies continues to grow. Dr Durel and colleagues from Tulane describe new video-assisted techniques for thyroidectomy in pediatric patients. Several short articles on localized myxedema, digital artery injury, venous complications associated with etomidate, and implanted nerve stimulation for refractory cephalgia are presented.

Diagnostic ultrasound remains an important imaging modality. Several of our radiology colleagues discuss the history of ultrasound at Ochsner.

Each year we celebrate research at Ochsner with an annual Research Night. Dr Re has graciously provided us with an update on the research activities at Ochsner, and Dr Krousel-Wood, our associate editor-in-chief, provides an insightful introduction to the Research Night abstracts.

An additional section of the Journal is devoted to letters to the editor. These provide additional peer interaction and will be an important component of the Journal's submission for indexing in PubMed. Of note, The Ochsner Journal's articles will soon be searchable on PubMed Central.

Finally, the Editorial Board would like to thank Dr Chris Winters for his service on the Journal editorial board. Chris will be transitioning his Urology practice to Louisiana State University and will not be managing patients at Ochsner. He has agreed to remain on the Editorial Board.

On behalf of the Editorial Board, I would like to thank our contributors for their efforts and hope our readers continue to find useful and interesting information in the Journal. I encourage all our readers to consider submitting to the Journal. We would be delighted to review your original article or consider an editorial or letter to the editor. If you are new to writing or just short of time, our Medical Editing Department is more than willing to assist you. Our efforts to improve and expand the Journal will be greatly assisted by additional submissions.