Scholarly Project Opportunities

[None available for this track at this time. Check frequently for updates.]

Scholarly Project Hand-Offs

Description: This is a scholarly project in the clinical research track and is a great opportunity for any student

interested in anesthesiology, orthopedics, critical care, and/or ultrasound. We are doing an

observational study that is examining the incidence of inadvertent phrenic nerve palsy and

hemidiaphragmatic paralysis following different brachial plexus blocks. All patients undergoing

elective surgery of the upper limb and who are receiving a brachial plexus block as their primary

anesthetic are eligible for the study. We perform a baseline ultrasound assessment of

diaphragm function and then do a post-block diaphragm assessment to determine whether the

patient’s phrenic nerve has been affected by the block. The incidence of phrenic nerve palsy is

relevant because it can cause respiratory compromise in patients with pre-existing pulmonary

disease or morbid obesity.

We have recruited 48 patients so far in this study but would like to get to 200 patients

eventually. I am submitting our preliminary results to the ASA conference as an abstract and

also have a preliminary manuscript that we hope to submit to the Journal of Regional

Anesthesia and Pain Medicine in the future. Dr. Panzer and Dr. Wagener are amazing mentors

and it has been an awesome year working with them! A student who picks up this project will

definitely get their name on the manuscript and will also have a good chance to present results

at a major anesthesia conference in the future. The student will also become skilled with using

ultrasound, which is a great thing to have before residency!

Mentors: Drs. Oliver Panzer (op2015) and Gebhard Wagener (gw72), Anesthesiology

Department Contact Info: Interested students can contact me at mnj2111@cumc.columbia.edu or my cell

phone (2064984330). I am happy to set up a time to meet in person or over the phone to

discuss further details!