AnaesthesiaWest

Twenty years ago perioperative myocardial ischaemia was a relatively easy thing to diagnose – we checked ECG looking for ST segment and T wave changes, and looked for an MB-CK rise. Then troponin arrived, and suddenly the proportion of patients with perioperative ischaemia increased drastically. For many of us, the report of a “postoperative troponin … Continue reading →

Toyota is famous for improving their cars through a process of continuous, small, incremental improvements, a technique known as Kaizen, or the Toyota way. In this way many small improvements, each inconsequential on their own, when added together produce significant results. I think this is a great model to use when looking at anaesthesia. Anaesthesia … Continue reading →

Colloid lovers are distraught by the publication of the 6S study from Scandanavia, which has demonstrated that hydroxy ethyl starches (HES) were associated with poor outcomes (read here). For many of us, however, colloids are like nicotine, caffeine, carbohydrates and heroin rolled into one: we just believe in them. It’s so hard to stop. This month … Continue reading →

Using high inspired concentrations of oxygen in the perioperative period may reduce the risk of surgical site infections for patients undergoing colo-rectal surgery. It does not appear to confer benefit for other patient groups. We live side by side with an element that both feeds us and damages us simultaneously: oxygen. Reactive oxygen species cause … Continue reading →

Most of the time that we palpate the spine (70%) we are incorrect at assessing the level of the spine that we are palpating blindly. In the future ultrasound guidance will be standard of care for spinal anesthesia, according to Jose Carvlho, from Toronto at the Western Anaesthesia Symposium. Does the line drawn across the … Continue reading →

Nothing terrifies an anaesthetist as much as the prospect of a patient waking up blind. It happens, but very infrequently. Who is at risk? What surgeries? What are the risk factors? Is there anything we can do to prevent and treat visual loss? Perioperartive visual loss is associated with posterior ischemic optic neuropathy (ION), anterior ION, … Continue reading →

The ASA has issued guidelines for acute pain management in the perioperative setting. Click on this link to read guidelines. Obviously there is a North American flavour to these guidelines, but they are generalisable. Summary: 1. Institutional Policies and Procedures for Providing Perioperative Pain Management Anaesthetists offering perioperative analgesia services should provide ongoing education and training … Continue reading →

Patrick Neligan, Consultant in Anaesthesia & Intensive Care, Galway University Hospitals (c) Clinical Scenario A 37 year old female undergoes bilateral mammoplasty. The procedure is performed under general anaesthesia. Prior to incision the wound was infiltrated with 20ml of 1% lignocaine, on each side. Intraoperatively the patient’s temperature was 37.5 degrees celcius, heart rate was 100 … Continue reading →