Today we're exploring a topic that goes deeper into the realms of medicine and neuroscience, and it's something that affects us all: cognitive health post-surgery. Adam Flowe, Chief CRNA at Duke University Hospital, brings his 20 years of experience and a personal connection to the table, discussing the intricate relationship between anesthesia, surgical stress, and the brain. With the aging population and the rise in surgeries, the question of how these procedures affect our cognitive function is more pressing than ever.

Here’s some of what we discuss in this episode:

• Post-op cognitive dysfunction is underreported and has greater incidence than expected.
• CRNAs are critical to prevention and optimization as direct care has major impacts (more so than they probably realize).
• Post-op cognitive decline might be caused by the surgery and not the anesthesia.
• The science behind post-op cognitive decline is expanding rapidly. Inflammation is a key factor and the blood-brain barrier is also key.
• Anesthesia has been awesome in improving safety through equipment and work on HARD OUTCOMES; the future of quality for us is in SOFT OUTCOMES.

About our guest: https://anesthesiology.duke.edu/personnel/adam-flowe-crna

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