The above-mentioned syllabus grew out of a desire by the ASA Committee on Geriatric Anesthesia to improve education in the field. Originally intended to assist with resident education, the syllabus is perhaps even better suited for the busy practicing anesthesiologist. Most chapters are under 1,000 words and provide a quick overview of a given topic. The syllabus does not attempt to be comprehensive, but includes 25 chapters that cover a wide variety of topics. Aging effects on normal human physiology constitutes a major portion of the syllabus, including cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, thermoregulatory and central nervous system aging.
Additional chapters cover how important organ systems respond to anesthesia.
Given that aging has such a major impact on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, several chapters are devoted to either basic principles or to the specifics for major classifications of anesthetic agents. Other topics covered include preoperative risk and evaluation, postoperative delirium, the treatment of chronic and acute pain, palliative care, critical care and trauma, and ethical considerations when dealing with an elderly patient. The primary method of syllabus distribution will be via the ASA Web site . From the site, the syllabus can be viewed on screen or the entire document can be downloaded in two to three minutes. The document can then be read at leisure and printed as needed.