Major anesthesia-related events in the 2000s and beyond

Abstract

The dramatic scientific and technologic advances of anesthesia in preceding decades slowed in the 2000s, with maturation of the specialty and associated subspecialties. Certificates attesting expertise in anesthesiology and subspecialities now require or will require recertification. Except for sugammadex, no new anesthesia-related drugs were released for use, and few new drugs are on the horizon. New uses for old drugs were found such as administering ketamine to lessen postoperative dependence on opioids, and substituting intrathecal 2-chloroprocaine for lidocaine to avoid lidocaine-associated transient neurologic syndrome. The 2000s saw technical advances such as the GlideScope, the first of many video-laryngoscopes, and increased adoption of ultrasound-assisted regional anesthesia. Several societies recommended ultrasound guidance for insertion of central venous catheters.