How to Survive in Anaesthesia - A Guide to Trainee.pdf
Part I Nuts and bolts The first section of this book deals with two fundamental aspects of anaesthetic practice: the airway and vascular access. General anaesthesia has been summarised by the simple phrase put up a drip, put down a tube and give plenty of oxygen. Many anaesthetists resent this glib description of their work, but it does have the virtue of emphasising the importance of venous cannulation and control of the airway, which are essential for the safe conduct of anaesthesia. Difficulties arise in anaesthesia when one of these fundamental areas is not secure and, if both fail, then disaster is close at hand. Therefore, in the first 10 chapters we concentrate on evaluation and control of the airway, the anaesthetic machine and circuits, basic anaesthetic monitoring, vascular access, and the choice of intravenous fluids. We have not given detailed instructions on how to undertake the practical procedures. There is no substitute for careful instruction from a s...