Pay Gap: Racial Disparities in Compensation Among Anesthesiologists

Epidural anesthetics are administered in the fat-filled epidural space, the outermost part of the spinal canal. This technique is commonly employed for pain management and anesthesia during lower abdomen and pelvis surgeries or labor and delivery.
Since epidural anesthetics can be infused through an epidural catheter, all types of drugs, including short-acting ones, can be administered. Chloroprocaine and lidocaine are examples of short and long-duration anesthetics, respectively. Bupivacaine...

Local anesthetics (LAs) block the sodium channels of nerve trunks, sensory nerve endings, and neuromuscular junctions. Although LAs can block all kinds of nerves, the sensitivity of nerve fibers differs according to nerve types and structures. LAs are known to block myelinated fibers faster than unmyelinated ones. Also, they block pain or sensory neurons at low concentrations without affecting the motor neurons involved in muscle contractions. This helps relieve labor pain without affecting the...

The human body employs intricate mechanisms to counteract changes in blood pH, preventing conditions like acidosis (pH < 7.35) and alkalosis (pH > 7.45). These compensatory responses aim to restore normal arterial blood pH by engaging respiratory or renal systems, depending on the source of the imbalance.
Respiratory Compensation
This mechanism addresses metabolic-induced pH imbalances by adjusting breathing rates. Respiratory compensation begins within minutes of detecting a pH...

Intravenous regional anesthesia or the Bier block technique is used to anesthetize a specific limb or extremity. It uses exsanguinated or blood-drained vessels to transport local anesthetics or LAs to the peripheral nerve trunks. Lidocaine without vasoconstrictors like epinephrine is most commonly used for this technique. Other drugs used are prilocaine, ropivacaine, and chloroprocaine. Bupivacaine is not recommended for this technique due to its high cardiac toxicity.
One of the advantages of...

Spinal anesthetics are given during lower abdomen and limb surgeries to block sensory and motor neurons. They are administered in the mid to low lumbar regions, primarily acting on the cauda equina's nerve roots. The blockade level depends on the local anesthetic (LA) concentration. Usually, low LA concentrations are sufficient to block sensory fibers, while only high LA concentrations block motor fibers. Other factors like injection volume and speed, the patient's posture, and the drug...

Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who...