Oxford Handbook Of Anaesthesia (2nd Edition).chm

Preface
This handbook is aimed at anaesthetists who have received at least basic training in anaesthesia. It does not tell the reader how to give an anaesthetic, but aims to help decide the best anaesthetic for different situations. We have tried to be selective about the contents of the book and have omitted some of the more traditional, but less relevant, topics for our target audience. The text is split into sections:
Section I (Chapters 1–12) gives standard information on pre-operative considerations such as consent and preoperative investigations and details the implications of pre-existing medical conditions. We have provided information about further reading for many of the varied conditions that are met in clinical practice, and have tried to give practical advice whenever possible, though in many situations the evidence base for choosing one technique over another is not available.
Section II (Chapters 13–33) gives practical, comprehensive advice for different surgical specialities. When compiling this section we asked colleagues with specific areas of expertise to describe their standard approach for their most common operations. The techniques and practical considerations described are not meant to be exclusive, but do represent a standard approach to many of the more common procedures. We hope these clinical descriptions will help anaesthetists working outside their immediate areas of expertise. In no way can guidelines substitute for supervized training but it is a fact of life that although anaesthetists are specialized by day, out of hours many of us have to be prepared to deal with a considerably wider range of surgery. We have included some details on more specialized areas of surgery such as cardiac surgery, neurosurgery and liver transplantation to give a basic grounding to trainees rotating through these fields.
Section III (Chapter 34) covers obstetric anaesthetic practice and Section IV (Chapter 35) covers paediatric and neonatal anaesthesia. Section V (Chapter 36) covers anaesthetic emergencies. Section VI (Chapters 37–48) discusses a range of practical issues such as airway assessment. Section VII deals with acute pain issues and Section VIII is concerned with regional anaesthesia.
Also included are appendices containing a drug formulary, infusion regimes, and normal values.
We hope that this handbook will be useful to a variety of anaesthetists. The exam candidate should find many basic principles listed and trainees should find the information concerning different areas of anaesthesia useful when moving between specialities. We hope that more senior colleagues will also find much of the information useful, both in theatre and when preparing a teaching session.
The book represents many hours of work by many people, and we owe thanks to the numerous persons who helped with the project. In particular we acknowledge the support given by our wives and families.
We are keen to receive comments about the book; its imperfections and deficiencies are as important as any positive feedback. Also, if you know of any better approaches to the problems or operations listed, or would like to add material not covered, please e-mail us. Try also to suggest which sections should be deleted.
Despite exhaustive efforts to check for drug dose errors, it is possible that some exist, please check carefully.
Keith Allman
Iain Wilson
2001
oxford.handbook.anaesthesia@ukgateway.net