TopMedTalk

TopMedTalk for the latest medical news surrounding Anaesthesia, Perioperative Care and Enhanced Recovery. Live updates from conferences; Journal Club; Techno Talk and Hot-Topic podcasts. Continuing Medical Education (CME) on the go

TopMedTalk Classic: Managing Perioperative Risk in Frail Patients 09/07/2026

SMART trial designs, perioperative data ecosystems, and collaboration 09/03/2026

Perioperative Profile: Dan Sessler 08/31/2026

IARS 2026: Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER) 08/27/2026

TopMedTalk AI: AI-Augmented Ultrasound for Regional Anaesthesia 08/24/2026

TopMedTalk AI: AI-Augmented Ultrasound for Regional Anaesthesia In Scotland at St Andrews, TopMedTalk AI hosts Andy Cumpstey and James Bowness discuss AI in regional anaesthesia with Bernard Victor Delvaux, staff anesthesiologist at the Centre Hospitalier Privé Claude Galien in Quincy-sous-Sénart, France. Bowness describes a regional anaesthesia course using AI-augmented ultrasound imaging, augmented reality simulated needling, and cadaveric ultrasound with real needle insertion. Delvaux discusses his research in AI-assisted nerve recognition, explains supervised model development through large-scale ultrasound image annotation for GE Healthcare’s C-NERF, and they explore how to evaluate AI beyond pixel-based metrics toward clinically oriented utility and safety, including differences in usefulness for trainees versus experts. They discuss model design across anatomical sites, the need for diverse training and external validation data, risks from poor image acquisition, and barriers such as trust and autonomy. Delvaux outlines priorities for ESRA’s AI working group, focusing on AI literacy and faster, reliable evaluation guidance. -- The 2026 International Practicum on Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing will be held at the Balmer Lawn Hotel in Brockenhurst, UK, from September 16th to 18th this year. It is organised by iPOETTS , the international perioperative testing and training society. Come and join us at this premier educational event designed for clinicians, scientists, and healthcare professionals interested in sport, exercise, and perioperative medicine. This is an International Perioperative Testing and Training Society accredited event so when you attend you can get your iPOETTS accreditation, showing that you are a practitioner who has reached a high, standardized level of competence in performing and interpreting Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) for patients preparing for major surgery. Go now to /episode/index/show/topmedtalk/id/42531790

Breaking Trials: ITACS Trial on Preoperative IV Iron for Anaemia Before Cardiac Surgery 08/20/2026

Breaking Trials: ITACS Trial on Preoperative IV Iron for Anaemia Before Cardiac Surgery Recorded at the excellent ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2025 in San Antonio. Hear Andy Cumpstey and Mike Grocott interview Paul Myles, a Professor of Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Here we focus upon his group’s approach to large pragmatic, multicenter international trials and the process of selecting and developing study questions within a clinical trials network. Myles presents the ITACS trial (intravenous iron treatment for anaemia before cardiac surgery), designed because anaemia is common (~30%) in elective cardiac surgery and is associated with increased complications, longer hospital stay, mortality, and greater transfusion requirements, while prior randomized evidence supporting routine preoperative IV iron clinics has been weak despite observational associations. The two-arm randomized controlled trial enrolled about 1,000 patients scheduled for cardiac surgery 1–26 weeks ahead across 33 hospitals in 10 countries; patients with anaemia due to causes unlikely to benefit from iron (e.g., megaloblastic anemia, certain iron storage diseases) were excluded, while non–iron deficiency anaemia was included. Participants received a single 1 g dose of IV iron in the weeks preoperatively, with a primary endpoint of days alive and at home at 90 days to capture patient-centered recovery and the functional impact of complications. Results included a statistically significant one-day improvement in days alive and at home, modestly higher preoperative haemoglobin, markedly improved iron indices, and a marked reduction in red cell transfusions intraoperatively and through 30 days and 3 months; the team estimated saving 44 units of red cells per 100 patients treated. The one-day benefit was mainly driven by fewer readmission days, and a formal cost-effectiveness analysis (with Australian resource-use data) is underway with planned publication within six months. The discussion highlights why mild anaemia matters in major surgery due to postoperative blood loss and recovery, and notes that while extrapolation to other major surgeries with expected blood loss >500 mL may be considered, the hosts and Myles emphasize ongoing equipoise and the need for additional large randomized trials outside cardiac surgery. -- We strongly suggest you investigate our forthcoming EBPOM Ireland conference, being held in the beautiful location of Dingle. World leading experts in perioperative medicine presenting the latest cutting edge research in periperative medicine and enhanced recorvery after surgery. Find more information at /episode/index/show/topmedtalk/id/42460625

EBPOM London 2026: European Postoperative Care Pathways 08/17/2026

Breaking Trials: The VITAL trial on TIVA, volatiles and outcome 08/13/2026

ANZCA ASM: Emerging Leaders 08/10/2026

SOAP 2026: Ron George on community, partnerships, and expanding peripartum anaesthesia 08/06/2026

SOAP 2026: Ron George on community, partnerships, and expanding peripartum anaesthesia From the 58th annual meeting of the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP) in Montreal, Mike Grocott and new co-host Joe Larvin speak with SOAP president Ron George about SOAP’s growth to over 1,000 attendees and its international, collaborative community. George outlines his career from Dalhousie to UCSF and back to Canada as director of obstetric anesthesia at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, highlighting its high-risk referral practice and large, internationally diverse fellowship program. He reflects on his presidency’s focus on mission alignment and partnerships, including work with the New York State Society of Anesthesia, discussions with the California Society of Anesthesia, and a planned memorandum of understanding with the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) to support evidence-based global education. He also discusses formative work in low- and middle-income settings, advocacy, peripartum anesthesiologist roles, and meeting highlights such as trainees, pain during cesarean delivery panels, and the Gerard W. Ostheimer Lecture. -- The 2026 International Practicum on Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing will be held at the Balmer Lawn Hotel in Brockenhurst, UK, from September 16th to 18th this year. It is organised by iPOETTS , the international perioperative testing and training society. Come and join us at this premier educational event designed for clinicians, scientists, and healthcare professionals interested in sport, exercise, and perioperative medicine. This is an International Perioperative Testing and Training Society accredited event so when you attend you can get your iPOETTS accreditation, showing that you are a practitioner who has reached a high, standardized level of competence in performing and interpreting Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) for patients preparing for major surgery. Go now to /episode/index/show/topmedtalk/id/42277800

TopMedTalk Classic: Should direct laryngoscopy be consigned to the history books? 08/03/2026

Euroanaesthesia 2026: Hot Topics in General Anaesthesiology with Laszlo Vutskits and Hugh Hemmings 07/30/2026

Perioperative Profile: Alan Merry 07/27/2026

The Lancet Surgery and Anaesthesiology: A New Journal for Perioperative Medicine 07/23/2026

TopMedTalk AI: Identifying How AI Can Help in Intensive Care 07/20/2026

TopMedTalk AI: Identifying How AI Can Help in Intensive Care Recorded live at the EBPOM World Congress in London, this episode of TopMedTalk AI features host James Bowness and co-host Amy Gomes speaking with Joe Harris, anaesthesia resident and Innovation Fellow in Anaesthesia at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust and Sanjay Wijayatilake, Consultant in Anaesthesia and Neuro Intensive Care MedicineBarking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust about “AI demand signaling” in intensive care. Harris explains the demand-signaling method—surveying clinicians on key problems, translating these into candidate AI use cases, prioritizing them via a Delphi panel, then exploring them in multidisciplinary workshops—to ensure AI development starts from frontline clinical needs rather than industry assumptions. Following completion of the anesthesia project, the intensive care survey is open to UK ICM clinicians across professions until July 31, with Delphi work planned for August–September and workshops in November–December. Follow this link for more: The discussion highlights governance, regulation, liability, and “black box” concerns, alongside potential ICU applications such as reducing alarm fatigue, documentation and transcription support, ventilator and workflow assistance, medication interaction checks, and evidence synthesis to support diagnosis and treatment, emphasizing AI as a partner with a human in the loop. -- The 2026 International Practicum on Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing will be held at the Balmer Lawn Hotel in Brockenhurst, UK, from September 16th to 18th this year. It is organised by iPOETTS , the international perioperative testing and training society. Come and join us at this premier educational event designed for clinicians, scientists, and healthcare professionals interested in sport, exercise, and perioperative medicine. This is an International Perioperative Testing and Training Society accredited event so when you attend you can get your iPOETTS accreditation, showing that you are a practitioner who has reached a high, standardized level of competence in performing and interpreting Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) for patients preparing for major surgery. Go now to /episode/index/show/topmedtalk/id/42146895

IARS 2026: WFSA Programs and Paediatric Anaesthesia Training in Africa 07/16/2026

IARS 2026: WFSA Programs and Paediatric Anaesthesia Training in Africa At the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) and Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists (SOCCA) meeting in Montreal, TopMedTalk hosts Mike Grocott and Desiree Chappell speak with Dr Faye Evans, Senior Associate in Perioperative Anesthesia at Boston Children's Hospital and Associate Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Director of Partnerships on the Board of Directors for the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA). The conversation covers efforts to improve access to safe surgery and anesthesia for children globally. Evans explains the WFSA as a society of over 150 member societies focused on advocacy, safety, quality, publications, short courses (including SAFE), and a fellowship program that has trained over 400 fellows from 62 countries. She highlights growing emphasis on leadership, teaching, and evaluation within fellowships and describes Pediatric Anesthesia Training in Africa (PATA), formed to expand fellowship training, which has developed a shared curriculum and launched four programs with support from ELMA Philanthropies and Smile Train. Evans outlines ways to get involved through teaching, virtual support, and donations via the WFSA website. If you would like to support the WFSA Scholars Program we mention this link in the show: -- The 2026 International Practicum on Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing will be held at the Balmer Lawn Hotel in Brockenhurst, UK, from September 16th to 18th this year. It is organised by iPOETTS , the international perioperative testing and training society. Come and join us at this premier educational event designed for clinicians, scientists, and healthcare professionals interested in sport, exercise, and perioperative medicine. This is an International Perioperative Testing and Training Society accredited event so when you attend you can get your iPOETTS accreditation, showing that you are a practitioner who has reached a high, standardized level of competence in performing and interpreting Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) for patients preparing for major surgery. Go now to /episode/index/show/topmedtalk/id/42104870

ANZCA ASM: Opioid sparing strategies for ambulatory anesthesia 07/13/2026

EBPOM 2026: Research oral abstract finalists 07/09/2026

TopMedTalk Classic: Dan Martin and the Ebola Epidemic of 2018 07/06/2026

TopMedTalk Classic: Dan Martin and the Ebola Epidemic of 2018 This month’s TopMedTalk Classic is particularly topical: first broadcast back in 2018 but relevant once again after the recent news of an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Originally recorded at the Intensive Care Society State of the Art Meeting in London, Desiree Chappell and Monty Mythen speak with Dan Martin, OBE, now Professor at the University of Plymouth and Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, about the critical care management of Ebola and other viral haemorrhagic fevers. Dan Martin describes the Royal Free Hospital's role as the UK designated centre, using a Trexler isolator system to protect staff (rather than full PPE) and rehearsed RAF-supported repatriation and hospital drills, including simulations for intubation, lines and CPR. He explains that Ebola is not inevitably fatal and that outcomes improve with safe, good basic intensive care—fluids, electrolytes and preventing secondary infection—while evidence for expensive experimental therapies is limited. The discussion also covers screening based on travel history, UK planning for “high consequence infectious diseases,” and international training visits. -- The 2026 International Practicum on Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing will be held at the Balmer Lawn Hotel in Brockenhurst, UK, from September 16th to 18th this year. It is organised by iPOETTS , the international perioperative testing and training society. Come and join us at this premier educational event designed for clinicians, scientists, and healthcare professionals interested in sport, exercise, and perioperative medicine. This is an International Perioperative Testing and Training Society accredited event so when you attend you can get your iPOETTS accreditation, showing that you are a practitioner who has reached a high, standardized level of competence in performing and interpreting Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) for patients preparing for major surgery. Go now to /episode/index/show/topmedtalk/id/41966170

NEJM and BMJ Editors: Joys and Challenges of Medical Publishing 07/02/2026

Perioperative Profile: Bruce Biccard 06/29/2026

Euroanaesthesia 2026: ESAIC Leadership Program for Experienced Anaesthesiologists 06/25/2026

TopMedTalk AI: Generative AI Basics, Biases and the Future 06/22/2026

Euroanaesthesia 2026: Breaking Trials about Perioperative Blood Pressure Targets 06/18/2026

Euroanaesthesia 2026: Breaking Trials about Perioperative Blood Pressure Targets At Euroanaesthesia in Rotterdam, TopMedTalk hosts Andy Cumpsty and Kate Leslie speak with Denise Veelo Professor of Anesthesiology at the Amsterdam University Medical Center and Bernd Saugel Professor of Anesthesiology and Vice Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology in the Center of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, about two JAMA blood-pressure trials published on the same day. Veelo describes a 3,500-patient, two-center randomized trial comparing usual care (MAP 65) with more intensive, risk-stratified higher MAP thresholds (70/80/90) using a functional recovery primary outcome, stopped early for futility. Saugel outlines the 1,300-patient IMPROVE trial in 15 German centers, individualizing the lower intervention threshold to each patient’s preoperative nighttime MAP versus routine MAP 65, with a 7-day composite outcome; no significant difference was found and event rates were ~30%. They conclude routine targeting substantially above MAP 65 is not supported for broad populations, note special circumstances may differ, and they discuss limitations, vasopressor-heavy practice, and future research including the ASPIRE 85 delirium-focused trial and work on autoregulation and physiology. -- The 2026 International Practicum on Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing will be held at the Balmer Lawn Hotel in Brockenhurst, UK, from September 16th to 18th this year. It is organised by iPOETTS , the international perioperative testing and training society. Come and join us at this premier educational event designed for clinicians, scientists, and healthcare professionals interested in sport, exercise, and perioperative medicine. This is an International Perioperative Testing and Training Society accredited event so when you attend you can get your iPOETTS accreditation, showing that you are a practitioner who has reached a high, standardized level of competence in performing and interpreting Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) for patients preparing for major surgery. Go now to /episode/index/show/topmedtalk/id/41684200

Euroanaesthesia 2026: ESAIC’s White Paper on the Future of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care 06/15/2026

Euroanaesthesia 2026: ESAIC’s White Paper on the Future of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care At this year’s Euroanaesthesia meeting in Rotterdam, TopMedTalk host Andy Cumpsty interviews Wolfgang Buhre, Professor of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine at Utrecht University Medical Center and past president of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC). The discussion starts with a focus upon the annual ESAIC congress and its international reach, with next year’s meeting planned for Copenhagen. Buhre explains ESAIC’s White Paper, developed over two years using interviews and desk research with clinicians, stakeholders, and patient perspectives, to clarify the role of anesthesiologists and communicate core values and strategic goals for 2026. Key priorities include addressing workforce shortages and Europe-wide variation in training and working conditions, protecting patient safety, ensuring availability of critical medicines and supplies, and expanding standardized education tools such as the European Diploma. He outlines next steps focused on advocacy with European institutions and support for national societies. -- The 2026 International Practicum on Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing will be held at the Balmer Lawn Hotel in Brockenhurst, UK, from September 16th to 18th this year. It is organised by iPOETTS , the international perioperative testing and training society. Come and join us at this premier educational event designed for clinicians, scientists, and healthcare professionals interested in sport, exercise, and perioperative medicine. This is an International Perioperative Testing and Training Society accredited event so when you attend you can get your iPOETTS accreditation, showing that you are a practitioner who has reached a high, standardized level of competence in performing and interpreting Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) for patients preparing for major surgery. Go now to /episode/index/show/topmedtalk/id/41634475

Breaking Trials: SNaPP Trial of Sugammadex, Neostigmine and Postoperative Pulmonary Complications 06/11/2026

ANZCA meeting convenor and cultural advisor 06/08/2026

Cardio-Obstetric Anesthesia at SOAP: Hemodynamics, Monitoring, and Preeclampsia 06/04/2026

Cardio-Obstetric Anesthesia at SOAP: Hemodynamics, Monitoring, and Preeclampsia At the SOAP meeting in Montreal, Desiree Chappell and Monty Mythen interview Dr. Marie Louise Meng, Associate Professor, Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and her former cardio-obstetric fellow Liliane Ernst, assistant professor in the Obstetric and Gynecologic Anesthesia section Wake Forest University. The conversation focuses on cardio-obstetric anesthesia, hemodynamics, monitoring, and patient-centered care. Meng describes building multidisciplinary “pregnancy heart teams” to plan management for complex cardiac disease in pregnancy and reduce birth trauma. Ernst discusses research using the Premier database on preexisting atrial fibrillation in pregnancy (about 25 per 100,000 deliveries) and associated management and outcomes. They review cases including mechanical circulatory support with an Impella to prolong pregnancy and highlight knowledge gaps about placental perfusion and pulsatility, including Fontan physiology. Meng outlines individualized hemodynamic monitoring for labor and C-sections, emphasizes recognizing hypertensive instability, and details preeclampsia with severe features, its end-organ criteria, incidence, disparities, postpartum follow-up challenges, and potential use of remote monitoring and noninvasive cardiac output/SVR monitoring to guide therapy. Monty Mythen, founding editor-in-chief of TopMedTalk, is now Senior Vice President, Scientific Liaison, BD Advanced Patient Monitoring. He is also Emeritus Professor of Anaesthesia and Critical Care, University College London, UK. Desirée Chappell, former co-editor-in-chief of TopMedTalk, is now Director of Medical Affairs and Medical Science Liaison, BD Advanced Patient Monitoring. She is also a CRNA at NorthStar Anesthesia, USA. -- Join us at Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine (EBPOM) World Congress 2026 in London. Be part of a global conversation as clinicians from around the world gather between 7-9th July at the British Library in London. Three days of evidence-based perioperative medicine, global insights, and expert debate—featuring speakers including Michael Marmot and Ken Rockwood. Register here - /episode/index/show/topmedtalk/id/41492745

Sir Bruce Keogh on the NHS at 70, TopMedTalk Classics 06/01/2026

Sir Bruce Keogh on the NHS at 70, TopMedTalk Classics TopMedTalk introduces our new “TopMedTalk Classics” series with a classic TopMedTalk episode from 2018 that is still prescient today. This lecture, given by Sir Bruce Keogh marked the NHS’s 70th birthday, a time framed by political volatility, financial constraint, rising demand, and shifting public expectations. Keogh argues healthcare systems must adapt, highlighting the UK’s strengths in medical science, innovation, life sciences, and the scale and complexity of the NHS. He describes quality improvement efforts since 2008, including defining quality as effectiveness, safety, and patient experience, developing outcomes measures, and using aligned clinical and managerial leadership to drive change. Examples include major reductions in MRSA, rapid increases in VTE assessment, improved survival from major trauma networks, better hip-fracture care, strong heart-attack and sepsis performance, stroke centralization benefits, and increased dementia diagnosis for support. He emphasizes future pressures from ageing, prevention, the health–social care split, Brexit workforce and drug costs, and emerging forces like mobile tech, AI, genomics, and gene therapy, arguing the NHS’s pooled, universal model is well suited to a genomics-enabled future. -- Join us at Evidence Based Perioperative Medicine (EBPOM) World Congress 2026 in London. Be part of a global conversation as clinicians from around the world gather between 7-9th July at the British Library in London. Three days of evidence-based perioperative medicine, global insights, and expert debate—featuring speakers including Michael Marmot and Ken Rockwood. Register here - 00:00 TopMed Talk Intro 00:18 Classics Episode Setup 01:31 Introducing Sir Bruce 02:23 Politics And Adaptation 04:41 Global Pressures On Healthcare 05:48 Hard Times Build NHS 07:35 UK Innovation Advantage 10:33 NHS Scale And Complexity 12:27 Darzi Review Quality Drive 16:10 Outcomes Framework Explained 17:20 Safety And High Level Metrics 18:09 MRSA Turnaround Lesson 20:11 Mandating VTE Prevention 22:58 Trauma Networks Results 24:08 Hip Fracture Best Practice 25:21 Heart Attack Care Wins 26:17 Sepsis And Early Warning 28:01 Stroke Centralization Success 28:45 Dementia Targets Debate 30:31 Leadership And Brexit Risks 32:35 Health And Social Care Split 36:01 Tech Disruption Ahead 36:49 Genomics And NHS Values 38:00 Closing And Congress Promo /episode/index/show/topmedtalk/id/41484260

AOA Meeting: Shaping AI for Anaesthesia 05/28/2026

TopMedTalk

TOPICS