Deep Breaths Deep Breaths

Today, in part 1 of our 2 part series on anaesthesia for previous heart transplant recipients, we discuss the care of these patients for non-cardiac surgery with special guest, Dr Ivan Rapchuk. We start our discussion with a review of how to assess whether these patients are suitable for elective surgery, and follow this with a deep-dive on the typical immunosuppressant medications that these patients may be taking, as well as their mechanism of action and side effects.Resources for thi...

Today, we discuss the rise of GLP-1 receptor agonists - what they are, how they work, and how they affect fasting during the perioperative period. Resources for today's episode: StatPearls: Physiology, Gastrointestinal Hormonal Control by Parikh, A. & Thevenin, C. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537284/StatPearls: Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists by Collins, L. & Costello, R. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551568/ ANZCA PG07(A) Appendixhttps://www.anzc...

It's taken almost a year, but we're finally giving you part 2 of our series on complex and uncommon cardiac conditions for non-cardiac surgery with special guest, Dr Shaun Roberts. Hold on to your earphones - this episode is a long one! If you haven't listened to part one, you can find it within season 6 - be sure to check it out before you listen to part 2.Today, we discuss anaesthesia for patient's with ventricular assist devices (or VADs), and we talk about providing anaesthetic care for a...

Today, we take a close look at the SNACC guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of neuroanaesthetic emergencies, and take a little time to discuss each of these emergencies in turn.Resources for the episode:Cognitive aids for the diagnosis and treatment of neuroanaesthetic emergencies: Consensus guidelines on behalf of the Society for Neuroscience in Anaesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC) education committee by Hoefnagel, A.L. et al. (full journal article)SNACC cognitive aids for neuro...

Today, in part two of our two part series looking at perioperative hypotension and acute kidney injury (AKI), we take a closer look at the methods we can adopt - as anaesthetists - to try to prevent perioperative AKI and the evidence of their effectiveness in preventing this complication.Resources for today's episode:BJA: Role of perioperative hypotension in postoperative acute kidney injury: a narrative review (sciencedirectassets.com) by Lankadeva, Y. et al.KDIGO 2012 Acute Kidney Inju...

Today, in part one of our two part series looking at perioperative hypotension and acute kidney injury (AKI), we take a close look at the diagnostic criteria for acute kidney injury. We then briefly revise aspects of renal physiology that make the kidney particularly susceptible to hypoxic injury, as well as looking at risk factors and other facets of anaesthesia that additionally predispose the kidney to perioperative injury.In part two - which will be released in a fortnight - we will take ...