Anaesthesia
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Patients undergoing anaesthesia in which the laryngeal mask airway was used were prospectively audited over a 6-month period. A simple record sheet was completed at the time of anaesthetic administration and 2359 completed forms were analysed to assess problems encountered with its use. It was used successfully in 2350 patients (99.61%); of these, 1399 patients (59%) breathed spontaneously through the airway and 960 patients (41%) underwent intermittent positive pressure ventilation of the lungs. Two patients (0.08%) were reported to have regurgitated during the use of the laryngeal mask airway, but no serious sequelae associated with its use were encountered.
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Since 1989, the Royal College of Anaesthetists has encouraged trainees to keep log books, although there is little information about the benefits of this practice as a part of anaesthetic training. A postal survey of all grades of trainee anaesthetist in the North West Region of England was conducted to obtain information about the present use of log books. The survey showed that log books are only used diligently by the more junior grades of anaesthetic staff. Although the practice of keeping a log resulted in an increased ability of the trainee to describe his clinical experience, the subsequent exploitation of this information to monitor or correct deficiencies in training was disappointingly low.