The Anaesthesia Nurse

16/10/2025

Happy World Anaesthesia Day 🌎🤓

It is an amazing day to celebrate everything anaesthesia related and how far the profession has grown and developed over the years!

For me it has been a great anaesthesia week and I have been able to utilise my skill set to the maximum including my brain 😄

I have anaesthetised a number of high risk and challenging cases this week including'

* Balloon valvuloplasty for pulmonic stenosis in a cocker spaniel

* A adrenalectomy in a cat with Conn's disease

* A mini-hemilaminectomy procedure with 5 disc spaces being opened in a dachshund

* A CT of a Pomeranian with a large liver mass occupying the majority of his abdomen

I have placed arterial cannulas to monitor invasive blood pressure, perform ultrasound guided loco regional anaesthesia, place a central line, calculate numerous CRI's, recognise and troubleshoot some concerning arrythmia's

It's great to see how far Anaesthesia and Analgesia has developed during my 21 years in practice and I am excited for the future 🫶🏼🩺💉

Future teaching posts to follow soon...🫴🏼 🤓

20/05/2025

Myself, Liza Rebecca are presenting a full day on anaesthesia & analgesia where we will be talking about some of the most popular topics. Come and join us in July and get 7 hours of CPD 🤓.

28/02/2025

ECG challenge: Name the two arrhythmia's in this picture & bonus points if you can explain why there are 2 🤓

27/02/2025

26/02/2025

Question: What do all these Capnography traces have in common? They all look different but are the same problem?

Answer: A leak somewhere around the ETT, the HME or Capnograph connector OR...the one people often can forget check is the Capnograph line itself including the water trap!

All of these photographs are examples of a leak in any of those locations. It's important to check all of these and correct them accordingly. Don't always assume it's the ETT and then place more air in the cuff without checking if this is the problem first as this can lead to unnecessary pressure on the tracheal wall and potential necrosis.

The most common site in the Capnograph line is the screw points at either end...check both! Slightly bend them to see if there is a split...you will be surprised at how often this happens 😺

The Capnograph traces in textbooks are not always what is wrong...real traces can look very different and a "shark fin" style trace is often a leak rather than an obstruction so check this first 🤓

Hope this helps 🫶