This issue of The Ochsner Journal contains an interesting and diverse group of articles. We begin with our quarterly feature on bioethics topics. Dr Blais discusses how a clinician assesses a patient's capacity to make medical decisions.
Next, several of our anesthesia colleagues present data on how specialized ambulatory anesthesia teams contribute to reduced recovery stays. Our third section includes three reviews. Dr Bateman and colleagues lead with a review of the medical management of acute hip fractures, and another group reviews the perioperative management of neurofibromatosis. We conclude this section with a review of sleep physiology and abnormal sleep states with therapeutic interventions.
The fourth section includes a number of interesting case reports and clinical observations. We must always remember that any product administered to patients has the potential for side effects. An example is reported by Drs Haque and Nossaman, who discuss adverse effects of dyes used in sentential node biopsies seen in an elderly surgery patient. This article is followed by a variety of case reports that address everything from bilateral gluteal compartment syndrome following knee surgery to a bowel obstruction in a pregnant J-pouch patient. Challenging anesthesia issues as well as oncology concerns are also discussed.
We conclude with two letters to the editor. The editorial board thanks our reviewers and contributors for their efforts and hopes our readers continue to find their submissions useful and interesting.
- Academic Division of Ochsner Clinic Foundation
