Douglas Pfeil, MD, PhD

American Board of Anesthesiology
National Board of Echocardiography

Upwards of 50% of patients undergoing cardiac surgery will experience post-operative cognitive decline (POCD). Cerebral oximetry is a non-invasive light-based technology that may be able to help predict this cognitive decline and allow for intervention early in the post-operative period. While regional saturation values are the industry-standard for monitoring patients under anesthesia, I am investigating other biomarkers and metrics that may be derived from cerebral oximetry to better identify patients that are at risk for POCD.

Additionally, I am interested in identifying intra-operative medications and interventions that may reduce post-operative pain, and reduce the use of post-operative opioids in cardiac surgery. Recently, methadone was demonstrated to be superior to other opioids in controlling pain post-sternotomy. I am currently trying to identify the appropriate dose of methadone for non-sternotomy cardiac surgery, such as procedures performed via mini-sternotomy, thoracotomy, or port-site incisions.