The dreaded ‘cannot intubate, cannot oxygenate’ scenario is one which most clinicians will never encounter. In elective anaesthesia, the CICO rate has been described by Cook & Macdougall as 1/5000 in elective cases, proceeding to emergency surgical airway in 1/50,000 (a more recent study from Japan describes CICO as 1/32,000 – either way, a rare event). CICV although rare, accounts […]
CICO Trainer for under $5 Read More »
There’s no doubt that for the small rural emergency department, a critically unwell patient can quickly overwhelm available resources. Like many small rural hospitals in Australia, there is one doctor on call for emergency presentations, with the ward-based nursing staff (two in out location) responsible for ward care, assessment of outpatient attendances as well as
Safety in Resus – Use the Whiteboard! Read More »
Safety is paramount in anaesthesia, wherever it is being performed (in theatre, in ED or at the roadside). Many of the non-anaesthetists joke about the apparent simplicity of induction agents in an RSI, without appreciating the nuances. RSI is easy! inject the big syringe first – induction then the little syringe – paralysis By far the
Big Syringe, Little Syringe Read More »
It’s no secret that I am concerned with management of the difficult airway, especially as pertains to the rural/remote/austere context. This may be either as a rural GP providing anaesthesia in the Operating Theatre, in the Emergency Department or at the roadside. Whilst many of us learn and regularly upskill in anaesthesia via the comfortable environment of
DAS 2015: Ditch the FastTrach? Read More »
I’ve just had the incredible good fortune to spend a few days between GP15 and PAIC2015 as a speaker and facilitator at RescueExperienceOz events in Victoria and Tasmania. The one day Rescue Experience workshops are provided free of charge around the world by Holmatro – the makers of rescue tools. I don’t know anything about hydraulics