Mark Dershwitz MD, PhD
Title | Professor |
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Institution | University of Massachusetts Medical School |
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Department | Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine |
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Address | University of Massachusetts Medical School 55 Lake Avenue North Worcester MA 01655
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Phone | 508-856-2480 |
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vCard | Download vCard |
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Institution | UMMS - School of Medicine |
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Department | Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine |
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Institution | UMMS - School of Medicine |
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Department | Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology |
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Institution | UMMS - Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences |
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Department | Millennium MD/PhD Program |
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Biography Oakland University, Rochester, MI, United States | BA | | Chemistry | Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States | PHD | | Pharmacology | Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States | MD | | |
2017 | Lamar Soutter Award for Excellence in Medical Education, UMass Medical School | 2016 | Outstanding Medical Educator Award, UMass Medical School | 2012 - 2014 | Outstanding Medical Educator Award, UMass Medical School | 2011 | Educational Achievement "Star" Award, UMass Medical School | 2005 | Teaching Recognition Award, Honorable Mention, International Anesthesia Research Society | 2002 - 2003 | Outstanding Teacher Award, UMass Department of Anesthesiology | 2001 | Distinguished Alumnus Award, Oakland University Department of Chemistry |
Overview Academic Background Ph.D. (Pharmacology) Northwestern University, 1982 M.D. Northwestern University, 1982
Postdoctoral Training Massachusetts General Hospital, Residency in Anesthesiology, 1984-86 Massachusetts General Hospital, Research Fellowship in Anesthesiology, 1986-88

Although anesthetics have been given primarily via the inhalational route throughout the history of anesthesiology, I am interested in the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of intravenous anesthetics. I was involved in the initial clinical trial of the opioid remifentanil whose novel pathway of elimination, via tissue esterases, causes it to have an extremely short duration of action. That study demonstrated that the pharmacological effects of the drug can be expected to wear off within a few minutes regardless of the cumulative dose administered. Subsequently I studied remifentanil in persons with severe hepatic failure or with renal failure requiring dialysis. Based on the known pathway of remifentanil metabolism, such organ dysfunction should have no effect on its PK. These experiments, in which the persons with organ dysfunction were studied as volunteers, demonstrated that as expected remifentanil was as short-acting in these persons as in matched control subjects without organ disease. In addition, the PD experiments showed that persons with liver failure were more sensitive to the ventilatory depressant effects of remifentanil. Despite the use of morphine in medicine for thousands of years, until recently there was no simultaneous PK/PD study of morphine in humans. This study, again performed in volunteers, showed that even after intravenous administration, the time required for the peak morphine effect to occur was approximately 1.5 hr. Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) remains a significant problem after anesthesia. I have been involved in several studies on two of the antiemetics that are antagonists at the 5-HT3 receptor, ondansetron and dolasetron. In addition, I performed the first detailed dose-response study of ondansetron in preventing PONV. Droperidol is the most effective single agent in preventing PONV. Unfortunately, since 2001 it has carried a boxed warning because of its alleged risk in causing cardiac arrhythmias. I performed and published a detailed safety analysis using FDA's own safety data showing that the boxed warning is unwarranted when droperidol is given at the usual antiemetic doses. Bibliographic
Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications.
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Cooper JB, Blum RH, Carroll JS, Dershwitz M, Feinstein DM, Gaba DM, Morey JC, Singla AK. Differences in safety climate among hospital anesthesia departments and the effect of a realistic simulation-based training program. Anesth Analg. 2008 Feb; 106(2):574-84, table of contents. PMID: 18227319.
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Dershwitz M. There should be a threshold dose for the FDA black-box warning on droperidol. Anesth Analg. 2003 Nov; 97(5):1542-3; author reply 1543. PMID: 14570685.
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Dershwitz M. Droperidol: should the black box be light gray? J Clin Anesth. 2002 Dec; 14(8):598-603. PMID: 12565120.
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Dershwitz M, Michalowski P, Chang Y, Rosow CE, Conlay LA. Postoperative nausea and vomiting after total intravenous anesthesia with propofol and remifentanil or alfentanil: how important is the opioid? J Clin Anesth. 2002 Jun; 14(4):275-8. PMID: 12088811.
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Dershwitz M, Walsh JL, Morishige RJ, Connors PM, Rubsamen RM, Shafer SL, Rosow CE. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of inhaled versus intravenous morphine in healthy volunteers. Anesthesiology. 2000 Sep; 93(3):619-28. PMID: 10969293.
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Philip BK, Pearman MH, Kovac AL, Chelly JE, Wetchler BV, McKenzie R, Monk TG, Dershwitz M, Mingus M, Sung YF, Hahne WF, Brown RA. Dolasetron for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting following outpatient surgery with general anaesthesia: a randomized, placebo-controlled study. The Dolasetron PONV Prevention Study Group. Eur J Anaesthesiol. 2000 Jan; 17(1):23-32. PMID: 10758440.
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Dershwitz M, Conant JA, Chang Y, Rosow CE, Connors PM. A randomized, double-blind, dose-response study of ondansetron in the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting. J Clin Anesth. 1998 Jun; 10(4):314-20. PMID: 9667348.
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Kearse LA, Rosow C, Zaslavsky A, Connors P, Dershwitz M, Denman W. Bispectral analysis of the electroencephalogram predicts conscious processing of information during propofol sedation and hypnosis. Anesthesiology. 1998 Jan; 88(1):25-34. PMID: 9447852.
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Hoke JF, Shlugman D, Dershwitz M, Michalowski P, Malthouse-Dufore S, Connors PM, Martel D, Rosow CE, Muir KT, Rubin N, Glass PS. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of remifentanil in persons with renal failure compared with healthy volunteers. Anesthesiology. 1997 Sep; 87(3):533-41. PMID: 9316957.
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Dershwitz M, Rosow CE. The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of remifentanil in volunteers with severe hepatic or renal dysfunction. J Clin Anesth. 1996 May; 8(3 Suppl):88S-90S. PMID: 8695124.
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Dershwitz M, Hoke JF, Rosow CE, Michalowski P, Connors PM, Muir KT, Dienstag JL. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of remifentanil in volunteer subjects with severe liver disease. Anesthesiology. 1996 Apr; 84(4):812-20. PMID: 8638835.
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Dershwitz M, Randel GI, Rosow CE, Fragen RJ, Connors PM, Librojo ES, Shaw DL, Peng AW, Jamerson BD. Initial clinical experience with remifentanil, a new opioid metabolized by esterases. Anesth Analg. 1995 Sep; 81(3):619-23. PMID: 7653833.
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McKenzie R, Sharifi-Azad S, Dershwitz M, Miguel R, Joslyn AF, Tantisira B, Rosenblum F, Rosow CE, Downs JB, Bowie JR, et al. A randomized, double-blind pilot study examining the use of intravenous ondansetron in the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting in female inpatients. J Clin Anesth. 1993 Jan-Feb; 5(1):30-6. PMID: 8442964.
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Dershwitz M, Di Biase PM, Rosow CE, Wilson RS, Sanderson PE, Joslyn AF. Ondansetron does not affect alfentanil-induced ventilatory depression or sedation. Anesthesiology. 1992 Sep; 77(3):447-52. PMID: 1387767.
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Dershwitz M, Rosow CE, Di Biase PM, Joslyn AF, Sanderson PE. Ondansetron is effective in decreasing postoperative nausea and vomiting. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1992 Jul; 52(1):96-101. PMID: 1385567.
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Dershwitz M, Rosow CE, DiBiase PM, Zaslavsky A. Comparison of the sedative effects of butorphanol and midazolam. Anesthesiology. 1991 Apr; 74(4):717-24. PMID: 2008954.
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Dershwitz M, Sherman EP. Acute myocardial infarction symptoms masked by epidural morphine? J Clin Anesth. 1991 Mar-Apr; 3(2):146-8. PMID: 2039643.
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Dershwitz M, Sréter FA. Azumolene reverses episodes of malignant hyperthermia in susceptible swine. Anesth Analg. 1990 Mar; 70(3):253-5. PMID: 2305975.
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Dershwitz M, Sréter FA, Ryan JF. Ketamine does not trigger malignant hyperthermia in susceptible swine. Anesth Analg. 1989 Oct; 69(4):501-3. PMID: 2782651.
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Dershwitz M, Ryan JF, Guralnick W. Safety of amide local anesthetics in patients susceptible to malignant hyperthermia. J Am Dent Assoc. 1989 Mar; 118(3):276, 278, 280. PMID: 2646341.
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Dershwitz M, Ts'ao CH, Novak RF. Metabolic and morphologic effects of the antimicrobial agent nitrofurantoin on human erythrocytes in vitro. Biochem Pharmacol. 1985 Jun 1; 34(11):1963-70. PMID: 4004912.
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Dershwitz M, Novak RF. Studies on the mechanism of nitrofurantoin-mediated red cell toxicity. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1982 Aug; 222(2):430-4. PMID: 6284910.
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Dershwitz M, Novak RF. Generation of superoxide via the interaction of nitrofurantoin with oxyhemoglobin. J Biol Chem. 1982 Jan 10; 257(1):75-9. PMID: 6273444.
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Dershwitz M, Novak RF. Lack of inhibition of glutathione reductase by anthracycline antibiotics. Biochem Pharmacol. 1981 Mar 15; 30(6):676-8. PMID: 7271908.
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Dershwitz M, Novak RF. Lack of inhibition of glutathione reductase by unnitrated derivatives of nitrofurantoin. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1980 Feb 27; 92(4):1313-9. PMID: 6989365.
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Novak RF, Dershwitz M, Novak FC. Characterization of the interaction of the aromatic hydrocarbons benzene and toluene with human hemoglobin. Mol Pharmacol. 1979 Nov; 16(3):1046-58. PMID: 530248.
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Novak RF, Dershwitz M, Novak FC. The interaction of benzene with human hemoglobin as studied by 1H Fourier transform NMR spectroscopy. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1978 May 30; 82(2):634-40. PMID: 666865.
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Year | Publications |
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1980 | 1 | 1981 | 1 | 1982 | 2 | 1985 | 1 | 1989 | 2 | 1990 | 1 | 1991 | 2 | 1992 | 2 | 1993 | 1 | 1995 | 1 | 1996 | 2 | 1997 | 1 | 1998 | 2 | 2000 | 2 | 2002 | 2 | 2003 | 1 | 2008 | 1 |
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