from the editor

Collaboration: Key Element of our Mission

By Greg Latham, MD
Seattle Children’s Hospital
University of Washington Medical Center

Welcome to the Summer 2017 newsletter. I am truly privileged to begin my two-year term as editor of the newsletter and chair of the CCAS Communications Committee. In my first communication to our society’s membership, I feel it is important to recognize the work and dedication of those before me.

In 2007 and as president of the CCAS, Dr. Dean Andropoulos published the inaugural society newsletter, a task he continued biannually for four years. In 2010, Dr. Courtney Hardy assumed the editorial position, accompanied by co-editors Drs. Mark Twite and Stuart Hall, who began adding additional online educational content that we enjoy today. In 2013, Dr. Mark Twite became editor and was joined by Dr. Luis Zabala as co-editor. In late 2014, I joined the team under the invaluable mentorship of new editor Luis Zabala, and we were fortunate enough to add Dr. Viviane Nasr into the new role of Education Initiatives. In scanning through the historical newsletter archived on this website, it is clear just how much effort and care was taken for each one. The prior editors and co-editors will be tough acts to follow as they provided a tremendous amount of educational content to our membership over the years.

Much like the CCAS itself, our editorial team is growing and changing. Viviane Nasr (Boston Children’s Hospital), after an incredibly productive two years as leader of educational initiatives, has joined us as associate editor of CCAS Communications and newsletter. Recognizing that she was doing the work of two people, we are privileged to have Drs. Rania Abbasi (Riley Hospital) and Stephanie Grant (Emory) jointly fill the role of educational initiatives. Welcome Rania and Stephanie!

Before introducing the newsletter, I would like to highlight the current and evolving online educational content on which we are working. Importantly, we are soliciting needed contributions from you, our society members, to expand the educational mission of the CCAS. There are numerous contribution opportunities for fellows, junior faculty, and seasoned veterans alike:

Current efforts:

Echo Tutorials: Five topics are already online and are excellent resources for faculty and trainees. If you have not read them, I invite you to do so. Additional topics are needed and will be formally peer reviewed* for purposes of expanding your academic productivity. This is a great opportunity for junior faculty.
Lecture Series: Additional topics are needed, and some older topics require updating. New topics will be formally peer reviewed*. Please contact a member of the editorial team if you have a lecture (premade or not) that you would like to contribute.
Quiz of the Week / Poll of the Month: Quiz and Poll contributions are always welcomed. It is your chance to perform an informal poll of your peers or stump them with a great question! Email Rania Abbasi and Stephanie Grant with your ideas. The questions will be reviewed and edited by Viviane Nasr and James DiNardo.
A Parent’s Guide to Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesia (under the “For Patients & Parents” tab): This Q&A pamphlet for families was written in English and Spanish by CCAS members, in collaboration with the Pediatric Congenital Heart Association. Feel free to print and use in your hospital and clinics. If you speak any other language and feel comfortable translating, please let us know.
Interesting Cases/Case Reports: if you have an interesting case or provocative situation that is not amenable to journal publication, please share it with your peers! We would love to accumulate interesting scenarios for our members. Anonymity is optional!
In partnership with Sage Publications and the journal Seminars in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, we are proud to announce that select review articles on congenital heart disease will soon be freely hosted for exclusive use of CCAS members. More to come!

Future plans:

Next steps: integration with social media, improvements to the member’s forum, a recommended reading list, pediatric cardiac anesthesia fellowship objectives, an updated pediatric cardiac anesthesia handbook, and more are underway.
If you have an idea for the website or would like to contribute educational content not mentioned here, please email me. Our educational mission is best served through robust collaboration of our membership.

Many of us had the opportunity to attend the 2017 CCAS Annual Meeting in Austin and were witness to the fantastic program assembled by the Program Chair Dr. Scott Walker and Co-Chairs Drs. Luis Zabala and Kirsten Odegard. For those who were unable to attend, Drs. Rania Abbasi and Stephanie Schock have written brilliant reviews of the meeting in this newsletter. Pictures from the meeting are included in the reviews.

As has become customary, two fabulous review articles have been contributed by CCAS members.

The first is a follow up article to Dr. Denise Joffe’s “Intraoperative Point of Care Ultrasound” (http://www2.ccasociety.org/newsletters/2016summer/pocultrasound.html) review a year ago. She is joined by Faith Ross, from Seattle Children’s Hospital, on this equally informative piece entitled “Point of Care Lung Ultrasound: The Stethoscope of the Future?” Joffe and Ross review the indications and provide a practical guide for quickly evaluating pulmonary pathology in real time. The argument is made that cardiac anesthesiologists are well positioned to master this diagnostic modality and champion its use in their departments.

The second article is by Dr. David Whiting from Boston Children’s Hospital. He has written an excellent and informative review on “TEG and ROTEM technology,” which provides the reader a “behind the scenes look” at how these tests are actually performed, the differences between them, and the list of terms and nomenclature associated with each test. He also briefly reviews how the results are indicative of various coagulopathic states.

*Topics will be peer reviewed to the standards required for promotion at most institutions; however, institutional criteria vary regarding online publications.