Section on Critical Care

The Critical Care Section is part of the General Anesthesia Division of the department. We focus mainly on the cardiovascular ICU. The CVICU takes care of a wide variety of post-operative cardiac, thoracic, and vascular surgical patients, including LVAD and ECMO patients, for which Stony Brook is the major center in Suffolk County, serving a population of 1.5 million. All of the intensivists who work in the CVICU are members of the Department of Anesthesiology. Intensivists supervise dedicated critical care physician assistants, PGY2/3 surgery residents, and PGY2/3 anesthesiology residents.

Section Members


  • Saleem Akbar Zaidi, MD, FCCP Chief of the Critical Care ICU. He is an alumni of our Residency Program. He joined our faculty in September 2021 after having done a Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at UT Health Sciences Center Houston.
  • Elliott Bennett-Guerrero, MD is Vice Chair for Clinical Research in the Department of Anesthesiology and also serves the hospital as Medical Director of Perioperative Quality & Patient Safety. He is an internationally recognized clinical researcher with numerous high impact publications and significant extramural funding.
  • Andrew Lawrence Feit, MD joined our faculty in 2019. He did a Critical Care Fellowship at ICAHN School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
  • Jonathan B. Oster, MD joined our faculty in 2022. He did a Fellowship in Critical Care at Columbia University.
  • Jonathon Schwartz, MD joined our faculty in 2019 after having done a Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at Stanford University.

Residency Training
Anesthesia residents rotate through the CVICU for a total of two 4-week blocks, starting at the end of the CA-1 year and through CA-2 year. During their time in the CVICU they learn about the post-operative management of post cardiac, thoracic and vascular surgery patients. They also gain experience and better understanding of mechanical circulatory support, including intra-aortic balloon pumps, ECMO and LVADs. While working alongside the intensivists and a group of skilled dedicated critical care PA’s, residents also get experience placing a variety of arterial and venous lines, as well as point of care critical care ultrasound, including TTE and lung ultrasonography. In addition, there are a number of didactic lectures provided during the resident’s time in the ICU by the intensivists, who also act as mentors for residents who are interested in pursuing academic projects.

Recent Section Activity


Medical Student Alex Freedenberg presenting his work at the 2021 ASA Meeting


Recent Publications
Resident authors denoted by bold type
  • Stony Brook COVID-19 Research Consortium. Mallipattu SK, Jawa R, Moffitt R, Hajagos J, Fries B, Nachman S, Gan TJ, Saltz M, Saltz J, Kaushansky K, Skopicki H, Abell-Hart K, Chaudhri I, Deng J, Garcia V, Gayen S, Kurc T, Bolotova O, Yoo J, Dhaliwal S, Nataraj N, Sun S, Tsai C, Wang Y, Abbasi S, Abdullah R, Ahmad S, Bai K, Bennett-Guerrero E, Chua A, Gomes C, Griffel M, Kalogeropoulos A, Kiamanesh D, Kim N, Koraishy F, Lingham V, Mansour M, Marcos L, Miller J, Poovathoor S, Rubano J, Rutigliano D, Sands M, Santora C, Schwartz J, Shroyer K, Spitzer S, Stopeck A, Talamini M, Tharakan M, Vosswinkel J, W Wertheim. Geospatial Distribution and Predictors of Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19: A Cohort Study. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Sep 14;7(10):ofaa436.
  • Abola RE, Schwartz J, Forrester JD, Gan TJ. A Practical Guide for Anesthesia Providers on the Management of COVID-19 Patients in the Acute Care Hospital. Anesth Analg. 2020 Oct 26.
  • Noll E, Soler L, Ohana M, Ludes PO, Pottecher J, Bennett-Guerrero E, Veillon F, Goichot B, Schneider F, Meyer N, Diemunsch P. A novel, automated, quantification of abnormal lung parenchyma in patients with COVID-19 infection: Initial description of feasibility and association with clinical outcome. Anaesth Crit Care Pain Med. 2020 Nov 13:S2352-5568(20)30266-6.
  • Bennett-Guerrero E, Rizwan S, Rozensky R, Romeiser JL, Brittelli J, Makaryus R, Lin J, Galanakis DK, Triulzi DJ, Moon RE . Randomized controlled trial of 7, 28, vs 42 day stored red blood cell transfusion on oxygen delivery (VO2 max) and exercise duration. Transfusion. 2020 Dec 27.
  • Freedenberg AT, Pan CH, Diehl WE, Romeiser JL, Hwang GR, Leiton CV, Muecksch F, Shroyer KR, Bennett-Guerrero E. Neutralizing Activity to SARS-CoV-2 of Convalescent and Control Plasma Used in a Randomized Controlled Trial. Transfusion. 2021 Jan 15.
  • Carter JA, Freedenberg AT, Romeiser JL, Talbot LR, Browne NJ, Cosgrove ME, Shevik ME, Generale LM, Rago MG, Caravella GA, Ahmed T, Mamone LJ, Bennett-Guerrero E; Stony Brook Medicine COVID Plasma Trial Group. Impact of serological and PCR testing requirements on the selection of COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors. Transfusion. 2021 Feb 8.
  • Talbot LR, Romeiser JL, Spitzer ED, Gan TJ, Singh SM, Fries BC, Bennett-Guerrero E. Prevalence of IgM and IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in health care workers at a tertiary care New York hospital during the Spring COVID-19 surge. Perioper Med (Lond). 2021 Mar 2;10(1):7.
  • Bennett-Guerrero E, Romeiser JL, Talbot LR, Ahmed T, Mamone LJ, Singh SM, Hearing JC, Salman H, Holiprosad DD, Freedenberg AT, Carter JA, Browne NJ, Cosgrove ME, Shevik ME, Generale LM, Andrew MA, Nachman S, Fries BC; Stony Brook Medicine COVID Plasma Trial Group. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Convalescent Plasma Versus Standard Plasma in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infected Hospitalized Patients in New York: A Double-Blind Randomized Trial. Crit Care Med. 2021 Apr 16.
  • Romeiser JL, Cavalcante J, Richman DC, Singh SM, Liang X, Pei A, Sharma S, Lazarus Z, Gan TJ, Bennett-Guerrero E. Comparing Email, SMS, and Concurrent Mixed Modes Approaches to Capture Quality of Recovery in the Perioperative Period: Retrospective Longitudinal Cohort Study. JMIR Form Res. 2021 Nov 4;5(11):e25209.
  • Parikh PB, Romeiser JL, Dhautel B, Mitchell D, Holecek W 3rd, Bilfinger T, Poppers J, Bennett-Guerrero E. Predictors and impact of low diastolic blood pressure and widened pulse pressure following transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Cardiovasc Revasc Med. 2021 Oct 28.
  • Ericksen WL, Levy JH, Kim ES, Nie L, Senzel LB, Bennett-Guerrero E. Thrombin Generation in Cardiac Versus Noncardiac Surgical Cohorts. Anesth Analg. 2022 Mar 1;134(3):606-614.
  • Guinn NR, Schwartz J, Arora RC, Morton-Bailey V, Aronson S, Brudney CS, Bennett-Guerrero E; Perioperative Quality Initiative (POQI-8) and the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery-Cardiac Society (ERAS-C) Investigators. Perioperative Quality Initiative and Enhanced Recovery After Surgery-Cardiac Society Consensus Statement on the Management of Preoperative Anemia and Iron Deficiency in Adult Cardiac Surgery Patients. Anesth Analg. 2022 Sep 1;135(3):532-544.
Recent Presentations
  • Xiao A, Kim B, Schwartz J. Vent: a User Friendly Application for the Inexperienced Clinician Managing Ventilators in the Intensive Care Setting. ASA 2020
  • Kang R, Kowal RA, Schwartz J. Anesthetic Management of a Patient with a Tracheo-innominate Artery Fistula. ASA 2020
  • Parsey D, Shuaib K, Watson E, Schwartz J Kowal RA, Poppers JS. Diagnosis and Management of Unique Gerbode Defect Variation Consisting of a Bi-atrial Regurgitant Jet At the Base of the Inter-atrial Septum Originating From the Left Ventricular Outflow Tract. ASA 2020
  • Freedenberg A, Pan C-H, Hearing J, Romeiser J, Bennett-Guerrero E. Comparison of Neutralizing Capacity of Plaque Reduction Assay to Novel Pseudovirus Assay for SARS-CoV-2. ASA 2021
  • Kang RS, Bracero LA, Figueroa C, Shuaib K, Watson E, Xiao A, Gidicsin C, Romeiser J, Costa AC, Bennett-Guerrero E. AIRWAY: Improving Preparation for Floor Intubations. ASA 2021
  • Kimura R, Schwartz JA, Romeiser J, Halper D, Senzel L, Bennett-Guerrero E. The Effect of Chamomile Intake on Blood Coagulation Tests in Healthy Volunteers. ASA 2022
  • Seiter C, Gutierrez J, Mironis A, Schwartz JA. Critical Care Management of Refractory Status Asthmaticus Beyond the Use of Conventional Pharmacologic Agents in an Active Smoker. ASA 2022