Illinois Medicine

20 S U M M E R 2 0 1 7 hether it's through innovations in translational research and patient care or groundbreaking approaches to training tomorrow's physicians, Illinois Medicine is surpassing the bar on all levels. From nationally recognized transplant programs, to innovative ap- proaches to the treatment and cure of blindness, to inclusive and global-reaching educational initiatives, this sampling of several of our clinical departments showcases the significant role Illinois Medicine plays in health care today. Anesthesia: Attention to Patient Advocacy WHETHER IT'S TR ANSLATIONAL RESEARCH that benefits the patient at the bedside, or tackling quality improvement, enhancing the patient experience is at the heart of every action in the department of anesthesiology. "We touch every clinical department except pathology, taking care of every patient, at every age for any problem that requires a surgical intervention," says David Schwartz, MD, FCCP, department head and Ronald F. Albrecht, MD Professor in Anesthesiology. "Anesthesia has pioneered patient safety." For example, when Guy Weinberg, MD, first heard that a patient with a rare biochemical abnormality developed severe toxicity after a very tiny dose of a local anesthetic, he began researching a solution. In the process, he discovered that a lipid emulsion treatment, normally used to improve a patient's nutritional status, could reverse the cardiac effects of a local anesthetic overdose. The first report of a patient treated with the resulting "lipid rescue" was in 2006. Since then, it has also been used to successfully treat not only cardiotoxicity associated with local anesthetics in both humans and pets, but also many different kinds of non-opiate drug overdoses. Lipid rescue is now commonly available, and case reports of dramatic W G U Y W E I N B E R G , M D DAV I D S C H WA R T Z , M D, FC C P R A N D A L D U L L , M D , P H D S T E V E N R O T H , M D , F A R V O A N E S T H E S I O L O G Y

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