Anaesthesia
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The ever increasing participation in aquatic recreational activities is a major factor in the increasing number of deaths due to accidental immersion. Some of these deaths occur while undergoing resuscitative efforts immediately following rescue, on admission to hospital, or even up to 19 days after the immersion incident. Drowning, either acute or its delayed effects, is chiefly responsible for these deaths, but in a number, hypothermia occurring alone or complicating drowning, is the likely explanation. This paper examines the problem and proposes a regime of management.
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Anaesthetists have much to contribute as members of a team concerned with the management of a severe head injury. Many factors have been discussed but it must be remembered that their most important duty is to maintain a clear airway.
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Biography Historical Article
Chloroform at Christmas. An early reference from the Theatre-Royal, Edinburgh.
James Young Simpson first administered chloroform to one of his obstetric patients on 5 November 1847. The speed with which the discovery caught the popular imagination is illustrated by a comic scene in a pantomime which formed part of an entertainment in Edinburgh presented on 27 December in the same year.
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A case is reported in which a major generalised convulsive seizure followed the administration of Althesin. The patient had no clinically demonstrable predisposition to epilepsy. The fits were rapidly controlled by the intravenous injection of thiopentone.