Anaesthesia for the patient with a cardiac transplant

For patients who have previously received a cardiac transplant, coming to theatre for non-related surgery is no longer unusual as survival times continue to increase for transplant recipients. With altered physiology, and the effects of long term anti-rejection drugs use, their anaesthetic requirements are more complicated and it is essential to know what works and what doesn’t.
Length of Study  60 min
Difficulty: Medium

Paediatric Anaesthetic Emergencies: Pt I

Paediatric anaesthetic emergencies can happen faster and leave less time to react then in adults. They present complex, potentially life-threatening situations that everyone engaged in giving paediatric anaesthetic should be aware of and be able to treat.This first article covers laryngospasm and suxamethonium apnoea.
Length of Study: 50 min
Difficulty: Medium

Tracheostomy fundamentals

Tracheostomies are becoming more common and the consequences of a misplaced tube can be serious so a good understanding of them is essential.
Length of Study: 90 min
Difficulty: Medium

BIS: fact or fiction

BIS or Bispectral monitoring is a relatively new but controversial technology to monitor depth of anaesthesia. This module covers how it works and if it works.
Length of Study: 60 min.
Difficulty: Medium

Safe tracheal extubation

This article covers complications occurring during emergence, extubation and later in recovery. It details the DAS guidelines on safe extubation and explains the factors that increase the risks of
adverse events. It also describes how to optimise conditions before tracheal extubation.

Length of Study: 60 min.
Difficulty: Medium
   

Physiological effects of transfer for critically ill patients

Critically ill patients can be exposed to significant physiological changes during transfer that can lead to significant instability with hypoxia, hypotension, arrhythmias and changes in intracranial pressure (ICP). This tutorial will explore the physiological effects that land and air transfer have on critically ill patients and describe how these adverse physiological sequelae can be avoided or reduced.
Length of Study: 60 min
Difficulty: Medium

Perioperative anaphylaxis

Perioperative anaphylaxis is not uncommon and several commonly used anaesthetic drugs can cause anaphylaxis. This modules covers latest guidelines to identifying and treating anaphylaxis in theatre as well as the post theatre care required.
Length of Study: 60 min
Difficulty: Medium

Anaesthetics for obese patients

The prevalence of obesity has tripled over the past 40 yrs and there are now more than 650 million obese adults worldwide. This article offers an update of the perioperative risk and the associated morbidity that obesity causes and its impact on anaesthetic management.

Length of Study: 60 min.
Difficulty: Medium
   

Diabetes & Anaesthetic Management

This module covers the affect of diabetes on the surgical patient and why intraoperative blood glucose control and frequent measurement of blood glucose and serum potassium are key to safe practice.
Length of Study: 75 min
Difficulty: Medium

COPD and Anaesthesia

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a commonly encountered respiratory disorder. Patients with COPD pose a challenge to the anaesthetist because intraoperative and postoperative complications occur more commonly than in those without the disease, and can lead to prolonged hospital stay and increased mortality. This module provides an overview of COPD and discusses implications for the anaesthetic management of patients with the disease.
Length of Study: 75 min
Difficulty Medium

Understanding your ECG: a review

Health professionals use the electrocardiograph (ECG) rhythm strip to systematically analyse the cardiac rhythm. Before the systematic process of ECG analysis is described it is important to understand the individual waveforms, segments and intervals of the ECG. This module reviews all these steps.
Length of Study: 90 min
Difficulty: Medium

Jehovah’s Witnesses and Blood Issues

Jehovah’s Witnesses are well known for their refusal of blood transfusions. But how much do you really know? What can or can’t they have, are epidural blood patches acceptable and what rights do parents have to refuse their children’s blood transfusions? This article discusses these issues as well as giving background on who are Jehovah’s Witnesses and what they believe in. It also covers the area of consent in both children and adults according to New Zealand law.
Length of Study: 60 min
Difficulty: Medium

Muscle Relaxants; reversal and the use of peripheral nerve stimulators.

This module discusses residual block, why, when and how muscle relaxants are reversed, and the importance of using a peripheral nerve stimulator when assessing the depth of block. It also covers the different patterns the stimulators use to assess how deep a neuromuscular block is.

Length of Study: 60 min.
Difficulty: Medium
   

I.V. Induction Agents

I.V. induction agents are some of the most commonly used drugs in anaesthetics. This modules shows how and where they work. It then goes to review the most common I.V. induction agents and their effects on the body.
Length of Study: 75 min
Difficulty: Medium

Understanding vaporisers

Vaporisers are an integral part of modern-day anaesthesia, allowing the delivery of safe concentrations of volatile anaesthetic agents. This updated module explains how modern anaesthetic vaporisers work and the principles behind them. It includes electronic and direct injection vaporisers.

Length of Study: 60 min.
Difficulty: Medium

Management of Major Obstetric Haemorrhage

Major obstetric haemorrhage is a common cause of maternal morbidity and mortality and the recognition of major obstetric haemorrhage can be challenging. This module discusses it causes, symptoms and importantly anaesthetic management of cases.
Length of Study: 75 min
Difficulty: Medium

Changes in Pregnancy Relevant to Anaesthesia

Pregnancy causes major physiological changes to the mother’s body. An understanding of these changes is the key to safe obstetric anaesthesia. The causes of these changes are initially hormonal; metabolic and mechanical factors also contribute as the fetus develops.
Length of Study: 60 min
Difficulty: Medium

An introduction to the autonomic nervous system

As many procedures and drugs used in anaesthetic practice have a direct influence on the autonomic nervous system, it is essential that the anaesthetic assistant should have an understanding of its structure and function although this is a very simplified introduction of a large and complex topic.

Length of Study: 80 min.
Difficulty: Medium
   

The effects of anaesthesia on respiratory function.

This tutorial will explain how anaesthesia affects the respiratory system and how these effects can be managed.
Length of Study:  60 minutes
Difficulty: Medium