Anesthesiology

SPA/CCAS 2026 Meeting

UCLA Anesthesiology at SPA/CCAS 2026

By Lindsay Brown, MD

Six conference attendees wearing name badges standing together in a hotel lobby.

The UCLA Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine had a strong presence at the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA) and Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society (CCAS) Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, in March 2026.  Trainees and faculty members presented work spanning quality improvement, outcomes research, and complex perioperative care. 

Four conference attendees wearing badges smiling and posing in a conference hall

Brandon Sumida, MD, Justine Liang, MD, and Justin Mitchell, MD, presented research on neuromuscular monitoring and perioperative outcomes in cardiac MRI, as well as challenging clinical scenarios including neonatal mediastinal masses and pulmonary vasoreactivity testing in severe pulmonary hypertension. These efforts were supported by faculty mentors Lisa Lee, MD, Theodora Wingert, MD, Wendy Ren, MD, Jure Marijic, MD, Lorraine Lubin, MD, and Ihab Ayad, MD. 

In addition, Dr. Wingert moderated a roundtable on AI tools for literature review, peer review, and study design. Lindsay Brown, MD, also presented a multicenter study on perioperative adverse events in children with congenital heart disease undergoing gastrostomy tube placement, further highlighting UCLA’s leadership in advancing care for high-risk pediatric populations.

Here were the titles and authors for the UCLA DAPM presentations at SPA/CCAS 2206:

“Prevalence of Train of Four Monitoring for Reversal of Neuromuscular Blockade and Sugammadex Utilization in Children”

Brandon Sumida, Theodora Wingert, Lisa Lee

“A Retrospective Cohort Study of 30-day Mortality After Pediatric Cardiac MRI”

Justine Liang, Ihab Ayad, Theodora Wingert

“It Takes a Team to Tackle a Titan: A Neonatal Mediastinal Mass”

Justine Liang, Wendy Ren, Jure Marijic

“The Challenges of Pulmonary Vascular Vasoreactivity Testing in a Patient with Severe Pulmonary Hypertension and Intrinsic Lung Disease”

Justin Mitchell, Nilson Wu, Theodora Wingert, Ihab Ayad 

“Perioperative Adverse Events in Children with Congenital Heart Disease Undergoing Gastrostomy Tube Placement: A Two-Center Study”

Lindsay Brown, Theodora Wingert, Ruchik Sharma, Amir Malek, Lisa Lee

“Round Table Discussion: Efficiency and Integrity - AI Tools for Literature Review, Peer Review and Study Design”
Moderators: Julia A. Galvez Delgado, Theodora Wingert