Journal of Neurobiology and Physiology

Pain is one of the most common symptoms experienced by patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Adequate pain management is critical to the well-being and overall recovery of these patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of preoperative in-person pain education on the pain severity experienced by patients undergoing CABG surgery in Rajaie Cardiovascular, Medical and Research Center in Tehran in 2022. In this quasi-experimental study, 72 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery were selected and randomly divided into intervention (n=36) and control (n=36) groups.

This commentary highlights the key points in the recent article by Blum et al. [1] that advocates for medical practices to adapt conservation measures to reduce waste and lower their carbon footprints. Healthcare in the United States produces considerable amounts of pollutants into the air, water, and soil. It is both a significant challenge and an opportunity for healthcare to reduce its carbon footprint. Medical offices, surgical centers and hospitals are responsible for 10% of chemicals that produce smog and 10% of greenhouse gasses [2]. Estimates show that the amount of greenhouse gasses and smog production from healthcare, among other factors, contributes to 405,000 years of disability-adjusted lives lost annually in the United States [2].

Depression is one of the most common comorbidities of chronic diseases including diabetes and obstructive lung diseases (emphysema, chronic bronchitis, and asthma). Obstructive lung diseases and depression have few symptoms in common. However, they are both common in adults and associated with chronic inflammation. It is not clear if their coappearance in diabetic patients is coincidental or associated beyond that expected by chance.

Examining BRCA mutations in preoperative breast cancer patients is very important when selecting a surgical procedure. Although there are advantages and disadvantages associated with knowing about the presence of genetic mutations, including for the patient’s family, there are many benefits for the patient. BRCA genetic testing should be recommended for patients who are strongly suspected of being positive for a BRCA mutation. 

The COVID-19 pandemic presents unprecedented challenges for anesthesia professionals and their surgical patients. Beyond managing infection risk, positive COVID-19 surgical patients add additional challenges to their perioperative care, where its perioperative risk are superimposed onto an already baseline anesthesia risk in real-time with an unknown and unpredictable fashion.