Anaesthesia
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Royal College of Anaesthetists Tutors have a key role in the delivery of postgraduate anaesthetic training in the UK. We report the results of a postal questionnaire sent to all College Tutors in April 2000. An 89% response rate (253 of 283 Tutors) was received. ⋯ In addition, a proportion had other administrative duties. The average time spent on College Tutor duties was 1.6 notional half days. Almost two-thirds of Tutors received some resources (time or remuneration) for their duties.
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Compared with the Henderson-Hasselbalch approach, the Stewart approach may better describe the mechanisms of acid-base physiology and disorders. We prospectively examined the acid-base disorders of 100 routine blood samples from critically ill patients using Stewart's physical chemistry analysis. The median results were pH 7.45, PaCO2 5.5 kPa, bicarbonate 27.2 mmol.l-1 and base excess 3 mmol.l-1. ⋯ The median reference total weak-acid concentration was 11.1 mmol.l-1. The measured median total weak-acid concentration was 6.8 mmol.l-1. From Stewart's approach, the most likely explanation for the overall alkalosis was decreased total weak-acid concentration resulting from decreased plasma albumin concentration.
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Letter Case Reports
Advantages and disadvantages of the Arrow FlexTip Plus epidural catheter.
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A method is described which allows an approximation to the arterial flow waveform to be derived from a pulse oximeter waveform. The observed pulse oximeter waveform is the sum of arterial inflow and venous outflow. ⋯ Subtraction of the venous outflow reveals the underlying arterial flow waveform. The assumptions on which the method is based are stated explicitly and discussed.