Harvard Anesthesiology Update 2025

Harvard Anesthesiology Update 2025 The Comprehensive 2025 Anesthesiology Update
Cardiac, Regional, Office-Based, Thoracic, Obstetric, Neuro, and Pediatric
Anesthesiology Update will be held on May 5–9, 2025. You have the option to attend either online as the course is live streamed or in person in Boston, MA.

In the past year, there have been a number of very significant clinical changes that affect the practice of anesthesiology. This comprehensive CME program provides a special and timely opportunity for anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, and others with interest in the field to hear directly from world-renowned specialists and master clinicians about these changes.

The curriculum at Anesthesiology Update 2025 ensures not only that attendees leave with a comprehensive understanding of the latest advances, risk mitigation strategies, and anesthesiology guidelines, but also with specific recommendations to incorporate these updates into practice.

The format is engaging and attendees are encouraged to pose questions of the national and international experts who will be delivering the updates and education at this event.

Updates, best practices and new guidelines cover:

Teamwork and Patient Safety
Recommendations from the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation
Advances in Transfusion Practices and Blood Conservation
Space Medicine
Perioperative Gabapentinoids
Artificial Intelligence in Anesthesia Delivery
Brain Health
End-of-Life Care
Brain Death and Organ Donation
Maternal Infections
Management of the Impossible Airway
Nerve Blocks: Minimizing Complications
Integrating Technology for Postpartum Hemorrhage Management
Point-of-Care Cardiac and Lung Ultrasound
Hemodynamic Monitoring in Critically Ill Patients
Malpractice Case Review
Pediatric Advanced Life Support
Participants will take away important guidelines and checklists that they can put to immediate use in their anesthesia practice.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

2025 Guidelines, New Innovations, Challenging Cases, and State-of-the-Art Clinical and Patient Safety Updates in the Areas of:

Regional anesthesia
Cardiac anesthesia
Critical care medicine
Ambulatory anesthesia, office-based anesthesia, NORA
Pediatric anesthesia
Obstetric anesthesia
Thoracic anesthesia
Perioperative transfusion medicine
Neuroanesthesia
Pain management
Patient safety and risk reduction
Enhanced recovery after surgery

OPTIMIZED FOR IN-PERSON and REMOTE EDUCATION

The 2025 program has been enhanced for both in-person and distance learning. In addition to being held live in Boston, all sessions of the core course will be live streamed and recorded. The recordings will be made available to participants for online viewing for 60 days after the end of the course.

Schedule
Monday, May 5, 2025
7:15am to 7:30am
Welcome
Sugantha Sundar, MD

Elevating Quality of Care in the Perioperative Arena
Moderator: Keira P. Mason, MD

7:30am to 8:00am
Research Fraud: Trials of Fujii: Impact on the Anesthesia Practitioner
Jaideep Pandit, MA, BM, DPhil, FRCA, FFPMRCA, DM

8:00am to 8:30am
Rethinking the Anesthesiology Workforce: Impact on Patient Care
James P. Rathmell, MD, MBA

8:30am to 9:00am
Myocardial Injury After Noncardiac Surgery
Daniel I. Sessler, MD

9:00am to 9:30am
Space Medicine 101
Shawna Pandya, MD, MSc

9:30am to 9:45am
Q & A
Drs. Mason, Pandit, Pandya, Rathmell, and Sessler

9:45am to 10:00am
Break
Innovations in 2025
Moderator: Sugantha Sundar, MD

10:00am to 10:30am
Perioperative Methadone: Clinical Application, Opioid Sparing, and Patient Benefit
Evan Kharasch, MD, PhD

10:30am to 11:00am
The Implications of Defining an Optimum Means of Assisted Dying
Jaideep Pandit, MA, BM, DPhil, FRCA, FFPMRCA, DM

11:00am to 11:30am
Perioperative Gabapentinoids: Slow, Stop, or Reverse?
Evan Kharasch, MD, PhD

11:30am to 11:45am
Q & A
Drs. Kharasch, Pandit, and Sundar

11:45am to 1:30pm
Break
Lunch and Learn Roundtable (optional)
Available to in-person attendees for an additional fee.

11:45am to 1:30pm
My Patient Has a Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device: What Do I Do?
Anastasia Katsiampoura, MD and Sankalp Sehgal, MD

(Limited to a maximum of 25 participants.)

Cutting-Edge Topics
Moderator: Assia T. Valovska, MD

1:30pm to 2:00pm
Management of Massive Hemorrhage in the Operating Room
Keyvan Karkouti, MD, FRCPC, MSc

2:00pm to 2:30pm
Update in Blood Conservation Techniques for the Anesthesiologist
Susan Goobie, MD, FRCPC

2:30pm to 3:00pm
Point-of-Care Coagulation Testing
Keyvan Karkouti, MD, FRCPC, MSc

3:00pm to 3:15pm
Q & A
Drs. Goobie, Karkouti, and Valovska

3:15pm to 3:30pm
Break
Practice Parameters: Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation
Moderator: Sugantha Sundar, MD

3:30pm to 4:00pm
Non-Operating Room Anesthesia: Enhancing Patient Safety in Remote Locations
Emily Methangkool, MD, MPH

4:00pm to 4:30pm
Medication Safety in Anesthesia Practice
Elizabeth Rebello, MD, FACHE, FASA, CPPS, CMQ

4:30pm to 5:00pm
ASPF Priorities: Current Focus and Future Directions
Steven Greenberg, MD

5:00pm to 5:30pm
Fireside Chat: Urgent and Upcoming Threats to Patient Safety: Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Criminalization of Medical Error
Drs. Greenberg, Methangkool, and Rebello

5:30pm to 5:45pm
Q & A
Drs. Greenberg, Methangkool, Rebello, and Sundar

Course Reception
6:00pm to 7:30pm
In-Person Networking Reception
Join colleagues and faculty for networking and refreshments

Tuesday, May 6, 2025
The High-Risk Obstetric Patient: Evidence-Based Practice
Moderator: Philip Hess, MD

7:30am to 8:00am
Post-Lumbar Puncture Headache
Philip Hess, MD

8:00am to 8:30am
Maternal Infections
Emily Naoum, MD

8:30am to 9:00am
The Dural Puncture Epidural: Finally, Optimal Neuraxial Labor Analgesia
Lawrence Tsen, MD

9:00am to 9:30am
Maternal Morbidity and Mortality: An Anesthesia Clinician’s Perspective
Michaela K. Farber, MD, MS

9:30am to 9:45am
Q & A
Drs. Farber, Hess, Naoum, and Tsen

9:45am to 10:00am
Break
Airway Management in 2025
Moderator: Sugantha Sundar, MD

10:00am to 10:30am
Scanning the Airway Horizon: Defining Landmarks
Ellen O’Sullivan, MD, FRCA, FCAI, FCPSP(Hon), FCANECSA(Hon)

10:30am to 11:00am
Managing an Airway on Mars
Shawna Pandya, MD, MSc

11:00am to 11:30am
Management of the Impossible Airway
Ellen O’Sullivan, MD, FRCA, FCAI, FCPSP(Hon), FCANECSA(Hon)

11:30am to 11:45am
Q & A
Drs. Ellen O’Sullivan, Pandya, and Sundar

11:45am to 1:30pm
Break
Lunch and Learn Roundtable (optional)
Available to in-person attendees for an additional fee.

11:45am to 1:30pm
GLP-1 Agonists: Current Recommendations
Ion Hobai, MD, PhD

(Roundtable limited to a maximum of 25 participants.)

Clinical Conundrums: Session 1
Moderator: Assia T. Valovska, MD

1:30pm to 2:00pm
Mechanisms Underlying Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders: New Treatment Strategies
Beverley A. Orser, OOnt, MD, PhD, FRCPC, FCAHS, FRSC

2:00pm to 2:30pm
Aortic Stenosis—No Need to Be Afraid: Management of Patients with Aortic Stenosis for Non-Cardiac Cases
Douglas Shook, MD

2:30pm to 3:00pm
Ketamine: Old Drug Learning New Tricks
Beverley A. Orser, OOnt, MD, PhD, FRCPC, FCAHS, FRSC

3:00pm to 3:15pm
Q & A
Drs. Orser, Shook, and Valovska

3:15pm to 3:30pm
Break
Clinical Conundrums: Session 2
Moderator: Jeremi R. Mountjoy, MD, FRCPC

3:30pm to 4:00pm
Beyond Borders: Achieving Long-Term Impact in Surgical Outreach in Ukraine: Decades of Work
Gennadiy Fuzaylov, MD

4:00pm to 4:30pm
Determining Death and Gifting Life: Clinico-Ethical Challenges in Organ Donation
J onah Rubin, MD

4:30pm to 5:00pm
How to Intervene When a Colleague May Be Impaired
Michael G. Fitzsimons, MD

5:00pm to 5:30pm
Geriatric Care Perfected: Geriatric Assessment and Evidence-Based Care
Houman Javedan, MB ChB

5:30pm to 5:45pm
Q & A
Drs. Fitzsimons, Fuzaylov, Javedan, Mountjoy, and Rubin

Optional Evening Activity
Available to in-person attendees for an additional fee.

5:45pm to 8:30pm
Ether Dome Tour
Susan Vassallo, MD and Jeremi R. Mountjoy, MD, FRCPC
(Limited to 50 in-person attendees)
Includes transportation and refreshments

Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Thinking Outside the Box
Moderator: Sugantha Sundar, MD

7:30am to 7:50am
Right Heart Risk: When to Suspect and What to Do
Monty Mythen, MD, FRCA, FFICM

7:50am to 8:20am
Trauma Management: Recent Advances
Jamie Sparling, MD

8:20am to 9:00am
Human Tolerance of Hypoxia: Lessons from Mount Everest
Monty Mythen, MD, FRCA, FFICM

9:00am to 9:15am
Q & A
Drs. Mythen, Sparling, and Sundar

9:15am to 9:30am
Break
Implications of Artificial Intelligence in the Perioperative Setting: Here to Stay
Moderator: Samir Kendale, MD

9:30am to 10:00am
The Future of Preoperative Risk Prediction: Machine Learning
Hannah Lonsdale, MBChB

10:00am to 10:30am
Smarter Beeps, Safer Beeps: Artificial Intelligence for Intraoperative Care
Alan F. Simpao, MD, MBI

10:30am to 11:00am
Decoding Artificial Intelligence in the Postoperative Arena
Samir Kendale, MD

11:00am to 11:30am
Ethical Issues in the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Anesthesia Practice
Ornella Piazza, MD

11:30am to 11:45am
Q & A
Drs. Kendale, Lonsdale, Piazza, and Simpao

11:45am to 1:30pm
Break
Lunch and Learn Roundtable (optional)
Available to in-person attendees for an additional fee.

12:00pm to 1:45pm
Update on Perioperative Cardiac Risk Stratification for Non-Cardiac Surgery
Michael H. Li, MBBS, MPHTM, GCCT, FANZCA

(Roundtable limited to a maximum of 25 participants.)

Rapid-Fire Session
Moderator: Jeremi R. Mountjoy, MD, FRCPC

1:30pm to 1:50pm
Head and Neck Blocks for an Awake Craniotomy
Arthur R. Formanek, MD

1:50pm to 2:10pm
Current Practices and Future Directions in Liver Transplantation
Riccardo Pinciroli, MD

2:10pm to 2:30pm
Point-of-Care Lung Ultrasound
Louisa J. Palmer, MBBS

2:30pm to 3:00pm
Point-of-Care Cardiac Ultrasound
Aidan Sharkey, MD

3:00pm to 3:15pm
Q & A
Drs. Formanek, Mountjoy, Palmer, Pinciroli, and Sharkey

3:15pm to 3:30pm
Break
Regional Anesthesia: Making It Safer
Moderator: Kamen Vlassakov, MD

3:30pm to 4:00pm
Evidence-Based Review—Technical Tips: Brachial Plexus Blocks Below the Clavicle
Vishal Uppal, MBBS, MSc, FRCA

4:00pm to 4:30pm
Analgesia After Cardiothoracic Surgery: Enthusiasm and Logic in Choosing the Optimal Regional Anesthesia Technique
Kamen Vlassakov, MD

4:30pm to 5:00pm
Management of Rebound Pain After a Peripheral Nerve Block
Vishal Uppal, MBBS, MSc, FRCA

5:00pm to 5:30pm
Ultrasound-Guided Neuraxial Blocks
Brinda Kamdar, MD

5:30pm to 5:45pm
Q & A
Drs. Kamdar, Uppal, and Vlassakov

5:45pm to 6:00pm
Break
Optional Evening Workshop
Available to in-person attendees for an additional fee.

6:00pm to 9:30pm
Regional Anesthesia Workshop
Karen Boretsky, MD and Kamen V. Vlassakov, MD
(Limited to 50 in-person attendees)
Includes dinner

Full description

Thursday, May 8, 2025
Clinical Practice Impact
Moderator: Keira P. Mason, MD

7:30am to 8:00am
Perioperative Delirium
Daniel I. Sessler, MD

8:00am to 8:30am
Why Should Anesthesia Practitioners Look Beyond the BIS Number?
Darren F. Hight, PhD

8:30am to 9:00am
Perioperative Management of Patients with Diabetes to Improve Outcome
Donal J. Buggy, DSc, MD, MSc, FRCPI, FFSEM, FRCA, FESA-IC, FCAI

9:00am to 9:30am
Emergence from General Anesthesia: What Can the EEG Tell Us?
Darren F. Hight, PhD

9:30am to 9:45am
Q & A
Drs. Buggy, Hight, Mason, and Sessler

9:45am to 10:00am
Break
Care of the Critically Ill Patient
Moderator: Keira P. Mason, MD

10:00am to 10:30am
Update on Hemodynamic Monitoring in the Intensive Care Unit
Christian Wunder, DEAA

10:30am to 11:00am
Biomarkers in Sepsis and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Ornella Piazza, MD

11:00am to 11:30am
Nutrition in the ICU
Christian Wunder, DEAA

11:30am to 11:45am
Q & A
Drs. Mason, Piazza, and Wunder

11:45am to 1:30pm
Break
Lunch and Learn Roundtable (optional)
Available to in-person attendees for an additional fee.

11:45am to 1:30pm
Gastric Ultrasound Workshop: Assessment of Aspiration Risk
Rohesh Fernando, MD

(Roundtable limited to a maximum of 25 participants.)

Critical Thinking
Moderator: Sugantha Sundar, MD

1:30pm to 2:00pm
Physician, Measure Thyself: Using Data to Collaborate and Improve Care
Sachin Kheterpal, MD, MBA

2:00pm to 2:30pm
Review of Malpractice Cases
Satya Krishna Ramachandran, MD, MBA

2:30pm to 3:00pm
Separating Machine Learning: Hype Versus Reality
Sachin Kheterpal, MD, MBA

3:00pm to 3:15pm
Q & A
Drs. Kheterpal, Ramachandran, and Sundar

3:15pm to 3:30pm
Break
Keeping Our Children Safe
Moderator: Jeremi R. Mountjoy, MD, FRCPC

3:30pm to 3:55pm
Airway Challenges in the Pediatric Patient
Jennifer Dearden, MD

3:55pm to 4:20pm
Anesthesia in the Land of Oz and Weg
Karen Boretsky, MD

4:20pm to 4:45pm
Update on Pediatric Advanced Life Support: What’s New in 2025
Monica Kleinman, MD

4:45pm to 5:10pm
Pearls and Perils in Preparing Children for Anesthesia
Lynne Ferrari, MD

5:10pm to 5:35pm
Patient Safety: Day Surgery in Pediatric Patients
Keira P. Mason MD

5:35pm to 5:45pm
Q & A
Drs. Boretsky, Dearden, Ferrari, Kleinman, Mason, and Mountjoy

5:45pm to 6:00pm
Break
Optional Evening Workshop
Available to in-person attendees for an additional fee.

6:00pm to 9:30pm
Airway Workshop
Jennifer Dearden, MD, Bhavani Shankar Kodali, MBBS, MD, FASA, and Stephanie Yacoubian, MD
(Limited to 50 in-person attendees)
Includes dinner

Full description

Friday, May 9, 2025
Something Old, Something Current—But Still Very Relevant
Moderator: Keira P. Mason, MD

7:30am to 8:15am
Magic, Sorcery and Witchcraft: Two Millennia of Anesthesia History Before 1846
Robert Holzman, MD

8:15am to 8:45am
Multimodal Anesthesia: Getting It Right
Emery Brown, MD, PhD

8:45am to 9:15am
From Brain to Consciousness: Lessons from Coma and Related States
Olivia Gosseries, MD

9:15am to 9:45am
Back to the Future: The Eternal Pendulum of Perioperative Fluid Balance
Donal J. Buggy, DSc, MD, MSc, FRCPI, FFSEM, FRCA, FESA-IC, FCAI

9:45am to 10:15am
Neurophysiological Markers of (Dis)connectedness: Insights from Anesthesia
Olivia Gosseries, MD

10:15am to 10:30am
Q & A
Drs. Brown, Gosseries, Holzman, and Mason

10:30am to 10:45am
Break
End-of-Life Care
Moderator: Yuan-Chi Lin, MD, MPH

10:45am to 11:15am
Palliative Care in the ICU
Ornella Piazza, MD

11:15am to 11:45am
The Power of Hope
Richard E. Leiter, MD, MA

11:45am to 12:15pm
Comfort: Symptom Management for Patients and Their Families at the End of Life
Natsu (Fukui) Matsuya, MD

12:15pm to 12:45pm
Communication Needs of Patients and Their Families at the End of Life
Lannie C. Santo, MD, MPH

12:45pm to 1:15pm
Continuity: Hospice Care and Care of the Bereaved in 2025
Sue Morris, PsyD

1:15pm to 1:25pm
Q & A
Drs. Leiter, Lin, Matsuya, Morris, Piazza, and Santo

1:25pm to 1:30pm
Closing Remarks
Sugantha Sundar, MD