Interscalene brachial plexus (ISB) block is considered the analgesic technique of choice for shoulder surgery. However, the hemidiaphragmatic paresis that may occur after the block has led to the search for an alternative to the ISB block. In this case report, the pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block was performed for both surgical anesthesia and postoperative analgesia in two patients who underwent shoulder surgery. It is suggested that the PENG block can be safely applied for analgesia and can be part of surgical anesthesia, but alone is not sufficient for anesthesia. The block of this area did not cause motor block or pulmonary complications, nor result in muscle laxity, blocking only the shoulder and the upper third of the humerus. It was demonstrated that the PENG block may be safely applied for both partial anesthesia and analgesia in selected shoulder surgery cases.

Objectives: The primary aim of the study was to determine the publication rates of the theses produced in the department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation in Turkey between the years 2000 and 2018. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated 2580 theses identified in the National Thesis Center using the keywords “Anesthesiology and Reanimation”, to which online access was granted by the authors. Theses that had restricted access or were accepted as abstracts in congresses were excluded. The gender of the thesis writers, the date of completion of the thesis and the year of publication, the place where the thesis research was conducted (university or ministry of health), the field of thesis subject, the database where the publication is located, and whether the author began an academic career after the thesis, was investigated. Results: Thesis authors were female in 52.4% of the 2580 theses included in the study while 59.1% were in the field of general anesthesia and 14.4% in the intensive care field. The proportion of authors obtaining an academic career was 15.5%. The rate of publication was 39.1% (n=1010). The mean time to publication was 3.46±2.62 years. Authors who established an academic career were significantly more likely to publish (72.5%; p<0.001). Conclusion: Although higher than previously reported, thesis publication rate remains low at 39% although a higher proportion of authors were female. Furthermore, the time to publication was long.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the average length of stay, mortality rates and service costs in intensive care unit provided to patients during October-November-December 2019 (pre-pandemic), with the average length of stay, mortality rates and service costs in intensive care unit during October-November-December 2020 (pandemic). Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional comparative, single-center study. The demographic data (age, gender), average length of stay, mortality and hospital costs of intensive care patients during October-November-December 2019 (pre-pandemic) were compared using the hospital records with the same data of patients in the same intensive care unit during October-November-December 2020 (pandemic), and the factors affecting the cost were investigated. Results: Of the 437 patients included in the study, 233 were hospiṫ aliż ed in pre-pandemic period and 204 in pandemic period. Pre-pandemic period mean age was 65.04 ± 17.0, and pandemic period mean age was 68.07 ± 15.1 years. The majority of the cases in both periods were male (57.9% and 63.2%). Length of stay, cost and mortality rates were significantly higher in the pandemic group (p: 0.000). There was a significant positive correlation between length of stay and cost (p: 0.000). Conclusion: It was found that intensive care costs increased considerably during the COVID 19 period, along with the increases in the length of stay and mortality rates. Advanced age and increase in length of stay were found to be correlated with mortality, but only length of stay was correlated with cost.