Preface

Modern anesthesiology is a product of a century-long evolutionary process. A transition from "the art" to "the science" of anesthesiology has been taking place since the early 1900s, with novel applications of medical, surgical, and basic science knowledge, and successful implementation of technological advances. Further rapid growth took place following World War II when advances from the military experience of the most devastating war in human history became integrated into everyday clinical practice. In parallel, a unique synergy emerged between surgery and anesthesiology – a trend that continues to this day, now including various other procedural-oriented specialties.

With improvements in technology came improvements in anesthesia safety, with a plethora of scientific and technological advances. Today, anesthesiology is at the forefront of clinical innovation, providing leadership and direction to all the other specialty areas that intersect its domain within the collective Venn diagram of modern medicine. Among key developments of the recent past, concepts such as "prehabilitation" (work on conditioning/preparing the patient's mind and body weeks before surgery), "perioperative surgical home" (a construct wherein perioperative care is delivered on a continuum of preoperative to intraoperative to postoperative stages) and finally the "hospital at home" concept, have important implications for both the role and scope of practice of anesthesiologists of the future. Finally, it would be remiss not to mention the importance of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols, their more recent proliferation, and their beneficial effect on patient outcomes.

Modern-day anesthesiology encompasses many highly differentiated subspecialties, including critical care, neuroscience, pediatrics, geriatrics, cardiothoracic, obstetrics, regional and acute pain management. In this book, we would like to take the reader on a stimulating adventure through current and state-of-the-art anesthesia practice and its subspecialties. Within this broader context, we must emphasize the importance of collaboration and teamwork between anesthesia and various surgical and medical specialties when taking care of a patient, whether it is in the setting of trauma and critical care, in patients with psychiatric disorders, or when managing patients undergoing life-threatening complications requiring emergent airway and/or complex resuscitation efforts.

This book pays homage to, and recognizes, the importance of anesthesiology and anesthesiologists to our modern healthcare systems. It also highlights the various present and future roles undertaken by anesthesiologists, both in the operating rooms and beyond. We also emphasize the embrace of multidisciplinary and multi-specialty approaches, both of which are inherently natural and seamless to the modern practice of anesthesiology. As the editors of this unique collection of chapters, it is our hope that we are accurately and effectively portraying modern anesthesiology as a truly unifying force within the fabric of the contemporary healthcare environment.

## **Anna Ng-Pellegrino**

Department of Anesthesiology, Research and Innovations Department, St. Luke's University Health Network, Bethlehem, PA, USA

## **Stanislaw P. Stawicki**

Section 1

Introduction

Department of Research and Innovation, St. Luke's University Health Network, Bethlehem, PA, USA

Section 1 Introduction

## **Chapter 1**
