Anesthesia professionals regularly perform physical tasks such as invasive procedures, airway management, positioning patients, and moving heavy equipment. Most training focuses on the specific skills needed to accomplish the intended task, neglecting topics like ideal posture and the layout of the work environment. These factors increase anesthesia professionals' risk of work-related back pain or other musculoskeletal injuries. Operating rooms are designed for efficient patient care but rarely include features that ensure the safety and wellbeing of clinicians. One recent study revealed an alarming incidence of head strikes, while injuries related to slips and falls may be responsible for 20% of lost time in operating room personnel. Musculoskeletal injuries are also common among healthcare workers, and are caused by maintaining an awkward body position while lifting or moving patients. Training that includes ergonomics, musculoskeletal awareness, and physical therapy can improve the health of anesthesia professionals. Allowing physical therapists to observe clinicians may also yield valuable information about safe work practices. Each of these interventions presents opportunities for potential research. A better understanding of the ergonomics of anesthesia practice can help anesthesia professionals to mitigate the physical risks associated with clinical practice and improve patient safety.

Clinicians and operating room staff are concerned about the day-to-day safety and efficiency of the operating room, but the operating room is a contributor to climate change and its associated detrimental effects on public health. Operating rooms use a significant amount of energy and produce 33% of hospital waste. Small modifications to clinical practice can reduce environmental impact without adversely affecting patient safety. Removing desflurane from clinical practice can reduce emission of gases associated with climate change. Using the lowest safe fresh gas flows and installing volatile anesthetic capture systems can also help to mitigate the environmental impact of anesthesia. Total intravenous anesthesia or intravenous anesthesia combined with a reduced volatile anesthetic concentration may reduce environmental impact, but the impacts of intravenous anesthetic agents must also be considered. Disinfecting and reprocessing durable supplies instead of using disposable equipment and soft goods may reduce the amount of solid waste generated during surgery without increasing the risk of contamination or infection. A better understanding of the environmental impacts of current practice can facilitate the development of new techniques and materials to improve the sustainability of anesthesia care without affecting patient safety.

The rapid growth and integration of artificial intelligence in healthcare has the potential to revolutionize all fields of medicine, including anesthesiology. This review summarizes the role of artificial intelligence in anesthesiology, highlighting how it can enhance patient safety, workflow efficiency, and research capabilities, while also examining the potential risks and ethical issues of introducing this new technology. Evolving applications in anesthesiology include closed-loop anesthetic delivery, risk stratification, intraoperative monitoring, natural language processing for literature synthesis, and predictive modeling for adverse events. While these tools offer significant promise for improving efficiency and safety, emerging risks, such as algorithmic bias, lack of transparency, hallucinations, and automation complacency - must be carefully addressed. Regulatory frameworks, clinician education, and transparent model development are necessary to ensure responsible integration. Artificial intelligence is poised to transform anesthetic care, but it must be developed and deployed with caution. Clinician oversight, robust validation, and ethical safeguards are essential to ensure artificial intelligence enhances, rather than replaces, clinical judgment. Strategic adoption can improve patient outcomes, reduce preventable harm, and streamline perioperative workflows.

This review addresses aspects relevant to caregivers facing increased numbers of adult and elderly patients seeking ambulatory medical service for ophthalmic surgery. The 'Guidelines for the Provision of Ophthalmic Anaesthesia Services 2025' reinforce the importance of streamlined preoperative assessment with special consideration of frail elderly patients, removal of routine fasting for low-risk ophthalmic cases, and a structured interdisciplinary team-based approach to ensure readiness for complications. The 'Update of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine evidence-based and consensus-based guideline on postoperative delirium in adult patients' stresses the importance of putative precipitating, but modifiable risk factors such as hemodynamic instability, inadequate analgesia, and depth of anesthesia. Remimazolam, a new short-acting benzodiazepine, has recently been approved for clinical use and has been investigated in endoscopic procedural sedation, among others. Studies in ophthalmic surgery patients are currently underway. With modern surgical techniques evolving rapidly beyond cataract extraction with lens replacement, less patients require overnight hospital facilities following their ophthalmic surgeries. Implementation of rational patient-adapted protocols facilitates the perioperative management of rising case-loads. Preoperative assessment includes identifying patients at risk of postoperative delirium and initiating nonpharmacological measures to minimize its incidence and duration. After the administration of retro-, peribulbar or sub-Tenon's anesthesia, anesthesiologists must be on the alert for adverse events such as retrobulbar hemorrhage, seizures, and brainstem anesthesia.

In an economically strained healthcare system, regional anesthesia is often perceived as an excessive cost by potentially delaying surgery and reducing operating room output; however, when integrated effectively, regional anesthesia can enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and expand access to ambulatory surgery for high-risk patients. This review summarizes practical strategies - such as walking spinal anesthesia with short-acting agents (e.g. chloroprocaine and prilocaine) and ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks - based on experience from a high-volume university outpatient center. Topics include patient selection, procedural efficiency, risk mitigation (e.g. urinary retention and transient neurological symptoms), discharge protocols, and the use of continuous catheters for extended pain control. When correctly used, regional anesthesiology improves patient satisfaction, supports rapid recovery, and enables safe outpatient care even in medically complex cases.

To present a broad overview of integrative medicine relevant to the field of pain management, summarize information for pain medicine practitioners, and highlight the possible role and incorporation of integrative medicine in daily practice. From 2002 to 2022, the percentage of American individuals using at least one of seven integrative medicine approaches has increased from 19.2 to 36.7%, including use for pain management. While literature has supported benefits in pain for some approaches, there is less robust evidence for other modalities. Higher risk modalities such as chiropractic manipulation, acupuncture, and supplement use remain controversial. A discussion of practical considerations and recommendations is provided for pain management providers who may encounter patients using integrative medicine or who may want to incorporate it into their practice. Integrative medicine encompasses a broad range of modalities, which have increased in use over the last two decades. Pain management providers should be educated about and consider including integrative medicine modalities into treatment plans. Risks and benefits of each modality must be considered and discussed with patients.