Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Nov 2024
Maximising environmental sustainability on the return to in-person conferencing: Report from a 2500-person anaesthesia meeting in Sydney, Australia.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted medical conferences, where restrictions on public gatherings resulted in the postponement or cancellation of in-person meetings. Virtual events emerged as a substitute, providing a mechanism for scientific collaboration and continuing medical education with the additional benefit of low environmental impact. However, digital events may not meet all the needs of delegates, such as professional networking and social connection. ⋯ Post-event calculations assessed the conference as better than carbon-neutral; however, delegate travel was not included in the analysis and therefore this result is tempered. Off-site workshops including virtual offerings were also not included in the analysis. We encourage medical conference organisers to collaborate with all stakeholders to embed low carbon-generation choices for their meetings where education, networking and social needs are also met.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Nov 2024
Historical Article'On the inhalation of the vapour of Æther, with cases': The first paper on anaesthesia read before a medical society in Australia.
On 7 September 1847, in Melbourne in the Port Phillip District of the Colony of New South Wales, David John Thomas (1813-1871) presented a paper, 'On the inhalation of the vapour of Æther, with cases', at an ordinary monthly meeting of the Port Phillip Medical Association. This is the earliest known presentation of a paper on etherisation in Australia. ⋯ The handwritten manuscript is now preserved in the Medical History Museum, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria. A transcript of the complete manuscript is now recorded with relevant historical notes.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Nov 2024
Historical ArticleTwo sides to every story: Reappraising the early history of liver transplantation at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge.
Over the course of the past six decades, liver transplantation has evolved to become the treatment of choice for chronic end-stage liver disease and some cases of acute hepatic failure. Currently, more than 34,000 liver transplants are conducted worldwide per annum, and overall one year survival rates exceed 90%. However, the early years of human liver transplantation were beset by failure. ⋯ This article outlines the results of research aimed at critically appraising this postscript. In doing so a number of unexpected discoveries were made. These highlight some important lessons for medical historians and demonstrate that if you look hard enough, there really are two sides to every story.