Michael R. Pinsky, MD developed an advanced Hemodynamic Monitoring Course composed of three integrated lectures: “Principals of hemodynamic monitoring,” “Problems and pitfalls in hemodynamic monitoring,” and “Functional hemodynamic monitoring.”  He presented these lectures to crowded audiences of critical care physicians in three Asian countries: the city-state of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Mumbai (Bombay) in India during March 14, 15 and 16, 2008.  Dr. Patrick Tan (Pitt CCM Fellow 1995) was also present to give his “Problems and Pitfalls” lectures in both the Singapore and Kuala Lumpur venues.  Dr. Tan is Professor and Chairman of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and the Dean for Graduate Medical Education at the University of Malaysia.  Dr. Pinsky was asked to repeat his Functional Hemodynamic Monitoring lecture at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, a major teaching hospital in Singapore where Dr. Thomas Lew (Pitt CCM Fellow 1993-94) is Assistant Chairman of the Medical Board and Senior Consultant in Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine.  During Dr. Pinsky’s brief stay in Kuala Lumpur, he visited with Dr. Patrick Tan, his wife Dr. Lucy Lum (Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology) and their children at their home.  Drs. Tan  and Lum published two seminal studies on the effects of occult inhaled nitric oxide on gas exchange in adults and infants (1,2) from their 1995-96 Critical Care fellowships in Pittsburgh and Toronto (respectively). Dr. Pinsky’s visit to Singapore was also enriched by seeing another Pitt CCM alumnus, Dr. Kang Hoe Lee (CCM fellow 1993-94) who has been Director of the Singapore Transplantation Service and is now Senior Consultant in Critical Care Medicine at the Singapore’s National University Hospital.  Interestingly, Dr. Lee’s stay in Pittsburgh overlapped with that of Dr. Tan, allowing them to co-author a paper on nitric oxide (3).

“We are extremely fortunate” Dr. Pinsky said, “to have such a rich and successful critical care medicine training program alumni base. Their continued success after leaving our program gives us pride in the program and in the trainees who graduate from it.”

1. Tan PSK, Genc F, Delgado E, Kellum JA, Pinsky MR. Nitric oxide contamination of hospital compressed air improves gas exchange in patients with acute lung injury. Intensive Care Med 28(8): 1064-1072, 2002.
2. Lum LCS, Tan PSK, Saville A, Venkataraman ST, Pinsky MR. Occult nitric oxide inhalation improves oxygenation in mechanically ventilated children. J Pediatrics 133(5): 613-616, 1998.
3. Lee KH, Tan PSK, Rico P, Delgado E, Kellum JA, Pinsky MR. Low levels of nitric oxide as contaminant in hospital compressed air: Physiologic significance? Crit Care Med 25(7): 1143-1146, 1997.