Failure of the anesthesia circuit, with inability to ventilate, is one of the most frightening anesthetic emergencies. You must act quickly to keep your patient safe and troubleshoot causes of the anesthesia circuit failure. One essential diagnostic and management tool in this emergency is your manual ventilation bag. Case: The Read More …
Going through your anesthesia checklist before starting a case isn’t exciting. However the anesthesia checklist can potentially save your patient’s life by allowing you to find risks and correct them before they cause harm. I found early in my career that if I skip this step, unwelcome surprises can occur. Read More …
There is nothing quite as scary as being in the middle of administering an anesthetic and having your anesthesia machine fail. In my 36 years of anesthesia practice I’ve had this happen to me a few times. Knowing how to quickly troubleshoot your machine, and knowing how to protect your patient are important, potentially life-saving skills. It helps to have thought through the steps to rescue the situation before it happens to you. This article discussed the steps you should take if your machine fails. Read More …