“People, We Have a Problem”

Editorial| June 2023 “People, We Have a Problem” This article has an Audio Podcast Warren S. Sandberg, M.D., Ph.D.; Warren S. Sandberg, M.D., Ph.D. 1Departments of Anesthesiology, Surgery and Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Andrew Davidson, M.B.B.S., M.D., F.A.N.Z.C.A., F.A.H.M.S. Andrew Davidson, M.B.B.S., M.D., F.A.N.Z.C.A., F.A.H.M.S. 2Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne; Departments of Paediatrics, and Critical Care, University of Melbourne; and Anaesthesia Research and Melbourne Children’s Trials Centre, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Author and Article Information This editorial accompanies the article on p. 587. Accepted for publication March 27, 2023. Address correspondence to Dr. Sandberg: Anesthesiology June 2023, Vol. 138, 581–584. https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000004566 Connected Content Article: Antiemetic Administration and Its Association with Race: A Retrospective Cohort Study Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Cite Icon Cite Get Permissions Search Site Citation Warren S. Sandberg, Andrew Davidson; “People, We Have a Problem”. Anesthesiology 2023; 138:581–584 doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000004566 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll PublicationsAnesthesiology Search Advanced Search Topics: antiemetic agents, perioperative care, postoperative nausea and vomiting, prevention, therapeutics The droll line “Houston, we have a problem” by the commander of Apollo 13 announced some troubling observations of unknown significance and impact, and set in motion an urgent but deliberate search for understanding the problem’s meaning for the crew, and to engineer solutions. Although the outcome of the Apollo 13 mission is known, the “we have problem” phrase has become a clarion call for focused attention to a perceived problem, its meaning, and a reliable solution in a hurry. In this issue of Anesthesiology, White et al. observe in a large retrospective cohort that black patients receive perioperative antiemetic administration at a lower rate than white patients.1 This result should be shocking, but like most retrospective research, this study has too many limitations to make definite conclusions about causation, and therefore we are inevitably left somewhat unsure what to do with these data. However, these data... You do not currently have access to this content.