Society for Pediatric Anesthesia
We make anesthesia for children safer

Written By: Myron Yaster MD, Paul Samuels MD, and Juan Gutierrez-Mazorra, MD, FAAP

Dr. Theodore W. ‘Ted’ Striker, Professor of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati passed away at home in his sleep this weekend.  Ted played a pioneering role in the development of pediatric anesthesiology in the United States. As a model educator, clinician, and administrator, he shaped the careers of hundreds of physicians-in-training and imbued them with his core values of honesty, integrity, and responsibility.

During his anesthesiology residency at the University of Pennsylvania, Ted rotated at CHOP, where “an air of excitement and innovation immediately captivated him. As he put it, something just clicked”.  He became the first pediatric anesthesia and critical care fellow in Jack Downes’ legendary fellowship program.  After completing his training and a stint at NIH he became the first full time, academic anesthesiologist at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where he built, brick by brick, one of the most progressive departments of pediatric anesthesiology in the United States. Along with his colleagues and best friends, Drs. Juan Gutierrez-Mazzora (University of Alabama Birmingham) who I (Myron) asked to help write this, and Al Hackel (Stanford University), promulgated policies and procedures on a national level for the improvement of pediatric perioperative child care. Ted, along with Drs. Steve Hall, Mark Rockoff, and Frank McGowan was also instrumental in developing the Sub-Board in Pediatric Anesthesiology and defining “what is a pediatric anesthesiologist”.  When the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia was founded in 1986, Ted was on its initial board of directors and he became a lifelong, ardent supporter of the Society. He was a beloved leader, mentor, colleague, and friend who lived his life with integrity, honesty, and curiosity. He built a diverse and talented department that will carry on his legacy of hard work, joyful practice, and respect for all. He will be missed by all who knew him.

For those who would like to know more about Ted and his many contributions see the History of Pediatric Anesthesia paper: Zulfiqar Ahmed et al. The development of pediatric anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital: an interview with Dr. Theodore Striker. Pediatric Anesthesia, 2015, Vol.25(8), p.764-769  PMID: 25989362

The leadership of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and professional societies associated with the specialty offer our support and strong encouragement for COVID-19 vaccination of the nation’s health care workers and all eligible Americans.

The health and safety of our members, our colleagues in health care, and the patients we serve is our highest priority.  We believe widespread vaccination is the most effective path to reduce illness and death, and to ameliorate the impact of the pandemic.

COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to be safe and effective at significantly reducing the risk of becoming infected, spreading the infection to others, and becoming severely ill or dying from the disease.  For health care personnel, COVID-19 vaccination is particularly essential because it significantly reduces the likelihood of unintentionally spreading COVID-19 to our patients, including those who may have weakened immune systems.

We believe anesthesiologists and anesthesiology professionals who work closely with patients in operating rooms and procedural areas, in hospitals and ambulatory settings, and in critical care units should be especially vested in closing the vaccination gap. We stand with all of our medical colleagues to strongly promote these efforts.

This statement is agreed upon and supported by the undersigned societies.

Beverly K. Philip, MD, FACA, FASA
President
American Society of Anesthesiologists

Samer Narouze, MD, PhD
President
American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine

Mark Warner, MD
President
Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation

Ronald G. Pearl, MD, PhD
President
Society of Academic Associations of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine

Bobbie Jean Sweitzer, MD, FACP, SAMBA-F, FASA
President
Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia

Andrew D. Shaw, MB, FCCM, FFICM, FRCA
President
Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists

Miguel A. Cobas, MD, FCCM
President
Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists

Stephanie B. Jones, MD
President
Society for Education in Anesthesia

Chanannait Paisansathan, MD, MHA
President
Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care

Edward (Ted) Yaghmour, MD, FASA
President
Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology

Nina Deutsch, MD
President
Society for Pediatric Anesthesia

The world and the extended pediatric anesthesiology community lost a cherished friend, mentor, and educator when Ron Litman passed away April 21, 2021 after a year-long struggle with AML.  Ron was a long-time member of SPA and an inspirational pediatric anesthesiologist with a long and distinguished career first at the University of Rochester and for the last 20+ years at CHOP.  For his entire career, Ron was a guiding light of clinical excellence, a dedicated mentor of all from undergraduate students to anesthesia trainees and faculty colleagues. His unending inquisitiveness and challenging of established dogma led him to innovative clinical research investigations, in which he collaborated with those from many fields outside pediatric anesthesiology (and outside CHOP), from adult pulmonologists at Johns Hopkins, to pediatric oncologists, otolaryngologists and sleep medicine specialists. His innovative findings have educated us all about everything from airway anatomy under anesthesia to pathophysiology of mediastinal masses and malignant hyperthermia. His interest in pharmacology and medication safety led him to leadership advisory roles at the FDA, culminating in his appointment as the Chair of the FDA Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee and the medical directorship at the Institute for Safe Medication Practice. His interest in malignant hyperthermia led him to an enduring collaboration with Henry Rosenberg and a fundamental role in MHAUS and the MH help line.  He trained and inspired a generation of pediatric anesthesiologists.  A voracious reader, both medical and non-medical, his love of learning and interest in medico-legal issues led him to study law as applied to medicine, receiving a Masters of Law at the University of Pennsylvania.  Ron also devoted much time to volunteer pediatric surgical mission around the world. A premier educator/lecturer he was much sought-after speaker at meetings, both anesthesiology and other specialties. As was his custom, he made friends world-wide wherever he traveled and picked up mentees as he went. A pied piper of pediatric anesthesiology, but also Ron was a devoted father, husband, friend, tennis and squash player and filled his and our days with wisdom, laughter and love. May his memory be a blessing for us all.

Ron himself expressed his love and devotion to his life’s work and colleagues best in an email he sent to inform the CHOP department of his diagnosis last July – “Except for the obvious burden on my family, I don’t really feel that sad about having such bad luck – I’m mostly thankful that I’ve had the incredible good luck to have a 30-year career where going to work every day is so much fun and fulfilling and impact so many children’s lives throughout the years, and getting to work alongside so many wonderful colleagues. Very few people in the world get to have that kind of good luck, and with a little more, I’ll be back in the OR in 2021.”  

The ASA Committee on Economics recently published an updated ASA physical status classification with specific examples of pediatric comorbidities. In a recent study by Ferrari LR et al., the updated pediatric ASA physical status classification moderately improved interrater reliability among pediatric anesthesiologists.

https://www.asahq.org/standards-and-guidelines/asa-physical-status-classification-system