Claim OwnershipAnesthesia Patient Safety Podcast
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© 2026 Anesthesia Patient Safety Podcast
Description
The official podcast of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) is hosted by Alli Bechtel, MD, featuring the latest information and news in perioperative and anesthesia patient safety. The APSF podcast is intended for anesthesiologists, anesthetists, clinicians and other professionals with an interest in anesthesiology, and patient safety advocates around the world.
The Anesthesia Patient Safety Podcast delivers the best of the APSF Newsletter and website directly to you, so you can listen on the go! This includes some of the most important COVID-19 information on airway management, ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE), drug information, and elective surgery recommendations.
Don't forget to check out APSF.org for the show notes that accompany each episode, and email us at podcast@APSF.org with your suggestions for future episodes. Visit us at APSF.org/podcast and at @APSForg on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
297 Episodes
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Transfers don’t have to feel like controlled chaos. We break down how to move a critically ill patient from the OR to the ICU with confidence by pairing structured handoffs with disciplined infection prevention—so information moves seamlessly while pathogens hit a dead end. We start by revisiting the ICU’s influence on anesthesia practice through the story of ARDS and lung-protective ventilation. The shift to 6 ml/kg ideal body weight didn’t just save lungs in the unit; it reshaped intraoper...
A small air bubble, a missed monitor cue, a late call for help—tiny moments that can change everything. We sit down with Dr. Max Feinstein to unpack how real-world anesthesia education builds safer clinicians, why attention is our most precious resource, and how culture—not heroics—prevents harm. From clear talk about morbidity and mortality to practical tactics like just-in-time simulation and curated literature, we map out a grounded approach to training that sticks under pressure. For new...
Curiosity can change a career—and a field. We sit down with pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist and creator Dr. Max Feinstein to trace how a love of ethics, a pandemic schedule, and a phone camera evolved into a mission to make anesthesia safer through clear, accessible education. From the first CA1 walk throughs to high-stakes cardiac cases, Max explains how video demystifies monitors, medications, and moments that raise anxiety for patients and challenge new clinicians. We dig into the root...
When air meets uncertainty, judgment matters most. We dig into the evolving landscape of airway management where video laryngoscopy, supraglottic devices, and even ECMO promise better outcomes, yet cognitive errors and non‑OR settings still account for many of the most devastating events. Drawing on recent studies, malpractice claims, and national audits, we map the pressure points that turn a difficult intubation into a crisis and show how to defuse them with clearer plans, tighter teamwork,...
What if the anesthesia workstation could see trouble coming and stop it before it starts? We explore how anesthesia moves from reactive to predictive by blending AI, medical-grade wearables, and closed loop systems with a strong safety culture. The story of Alex—a 75-year-old who developed postoperative delirium and fell—anchors the stakes and shows how early signals, if recognized and acted on, can change a life. We break down practical uses of machine learning in the perioperative space: f...
Maternal safety has never mattered more, and the stakes span far beyond the delivery room. We revisit four decades of progress in obstetric anesthesia—from safer neuraxial techniques and airway strategies to medication safeguards—and then get honest about what still puts patients at risk. With author insights and frontline examples, we connect the dots between evidence, teamwork, and the lived experience of childbirth to show where anesthesia can lead meaningful change. Rising patient complex...
A cocaine-positive patient rolls into the OR and the monitors look fine—until twenty minutes after induction, when the blood pressure plummets. We unpack that swing from sympathetic surge to sudden crash through two real cases: an emergent trauma laparotomy complicated by asystole and a chronic intranasal user with profound hypotension that only responded to direct-acting vasopressors. From there, we connect the dots to the pharmacology that makes these events predictable and, with the right ...
A remarkable safety story runs through regional anesthesia, from the era of blind needle placement to a modern practice guided by real-time ultrasound, lipid rescue, and reliable team checklists. We walk through the key milestones that cut complications, accelerated block onset, and lowered conversion to general anesthesia, while keeping a clear eye on the hazards that remain. Along the way, we explain how a simple seven-point timeout helps prevent wrong-sided blocks and why ultrasound has re...
A single syringe swap should never decide a patient’s fate. We pull back the curtain on forty years of anesthesia medication safety to show what truly works—then tackle the hard part: getting proven safeguards into every OR, every time. From look-alike vial hazards to standardization that actually sticks, this conversation blends frontline realities with practical steps leaders can implement now. We dig into the high-stakes TXA wrong-drug, wrong-route crisis and explain why eliminating vials...
Seconds define outcomes in the OR, and medication safety lives in those seconds. We take you inside four decades of work by the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation to show how our field shifted from relying on vigilance to building systems that make the right action the easy action. Along the way, guest contributor, Dr. Elizabeth Rebello, shares why standardization, technology, and culture are not buzzwords but lifelines when a single clinician must select, prepare, and administer drugs unde...
Nausea shouldn’t be the most memorable part of surgery. We take a clear, evidence-based look at postoperative nausea and vomiting, from identifying who’s at risk to building smarter prophylaxis bundles and choosing the right rescue when prevention falls short. With guest insights from Dr. Connie Chung, we unpack the Fourth Consensus Guidelines, translate them into practical workflows, and explore how Amisulpride—an atypical D2 antagonist—changes the game with an FDA indication for rescue afte...
Safety for children under anesthesia shouldn’t depend on luck or location. We walk through 100+ years of progress in pediatric anesthesia and focus on the next wave of innovations that can make first attempts safer, dosing smarter, and systems more reliable—especially for neonates and infants who face the highest risk. We start with the historical milestones that changed outcomes: pulse oximetry, capnography, standardized monitoring, and the rise of pediatric training and ICUs. Then we exami...
A routine dental visit should never turn into a medical emergency. We sit down with Dr. Rita Agarwal, pediatric anesthesiologist and patient safety advocate, to unpack why dental anesthesia operates on a separate track from hospital-based care—and how that gap can put patients at risk. From the heartbreaking story of six-year-old Caleb Sears to the hard truths about monitoring requirements, staffing models, and training, this conversation brings clarity to a topic most families and many clini...
The fastest way to improve post-cesarean recovery is to start before the first incision—by setting expectations, testing the block, and validating what patients feel. We sit down with Dr. Ruth Landau, Virginia Apgar Professor and Chief of Obstetric Anesthesia at Columbia University, to map a safer path from the OR to the nursery: neuraxial-first analgesia, scheduled non-opioids, and small, truly PRN opioid prescriptions at discharge. She explains how intrapartum cesareans carry higher risk fo...
Anterior mediastinal masses make even seasoned anesthesiologists pause, and for good reason: a stable, upright patient can decompensate with a single change in position or a single dose of the wrong drug. We walk through a clear, stepwise approach that starts with anatomy and symptom red flags, then translates imaging, echocardiography, and pulmonary function testing into real-world decisions at the bedside. The focus stays practical: how to pick the safest setting, when to avoid general anes...
Ever walked into a new OR and spent the first ten minutes hunting for an airway bougie or a computer log-in that actually works? We dig into the hidden safety risks of a transient anesthesia workforce and share practical, fast-moving fixes that keep patients safe while keeping rooms open. With staffing shortages reshaping coverage models across the United States and beyond, locum clinicians are essential—but inconsistent environments, unclear escalation paths, and fragmented communication can...
Imagine stepping into an operating room where oxygen isn’t guaranteed, capnography is rare, and one anesthesiologist might serve a million people. That’s the reality many patients face, and it’s exactly where meaningful change can save the most lives. We sit down with Dr. Kelly McQueen, professor of anesthesiology and department chair at the University of Wisconsin, to explore what it takes to deliver safe anesthesia in low and middle-income countries and how practical solutions—rooted in tra...
What if the biggest risks in maternal care are not just clinical, but cultural? We dig into the hard truth that speaking up can feel risky, pain during cesarean is often underestimated, and rare obstetric crises can overwhelm memory. From there, we chart a path toward safer births with practical tools that any team can use: psychological safety to unlock communication, structured pre‑briefs and rapid debriefs, and cognitive aids that turn chaos into coordinated action. We walk through the li...
Power, control, and communication shape every birth—and too often, they decide whether care feels safe or traumatic. We dig into practical ways to prevent harm in obstetric anesthesia by centering trauma-informed care, reducing stigma around substance use disorder, and giving real choice during cesarean delivery. We start by distinguishing complications from trauma and laying out the six pillars that make care safer: safety, transparency, peer support, collaboration, empowerment, and cultura...
Maternal care is at a breaking point: delivering hospitals are disappearing while deaths that could be prevented keep climbing. We pull back the curtain on how structural racism, policy headwinds, and technology blind spots compound risk for birthing people—especially Black, Hispanic, rural, and low‑income patients—and what it takes to change the trajectory now. We start by naming the problem with data: stable birth rates alongside a steep decline in maternity units have created care deserts...
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