British journal of anaesthesia
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Multicenter Study
In-theatre training of anaesthetists in a teaching hospital: has it changed over 10 years?
We wished to ascertain in what way recent changes such as Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) and the implementation of the Working Time Directive (WTD) have affected clinical training and experience for anaesthetists in a teaching centre, in particular the provision of training in specialized fields of anaesthesia provided in the teaching hospital. ⋯ In spite of many pressures on training in the clinical setting, the number of cases and senior supervision in specialist modules for trainee anaesthetists in our teaching hospital has been maintained. Continuous monitoring of in-theatre supervision is one way of confirming that training is not compromised as changes occur in hospital workload.
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Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is associated, in the majority of cases, with mutations in RYR1, the gene encoding the skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor. Our primary aim was to assess whether different RYR1 variants are associated with quantitative differences in MH phenotype. ⋯ The MH phenotype differs significantly with different RYR1 variants. Variants leading to more severe MH phenotype are distributed throughout the gene and tend to lie at relatively conserved sites in the protein. Differences in phenotype severity between RYR1 variants may explain the variability in clinical penetrance of MH during anaesthesia and why some variants have been associated with exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis and heat stroke. They may also inform a mutation screening strategy in cases of idiopathic hyperCKaemia.
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The aim of this study was to describe topographic variations in the arrangement of the four main brachial plexus nerves at the junction of the axilla and the upper part of the arm. ⋯ Topographic variations of the four main nerves at the axilla were found to be numerous, the most frequent arrangement being seen in less than two-thirds of the patients. Four separate nerves were seen on static ultrasound imaging at this sectional level of the axilla in only 78% of the cases.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Influence of different remifentanil concentrations on the performance of the surgical stress index to detect a standardized painful stimulus during sevoflurane anaesthesia.
Although measurement of cerebral hypnotic drug effect and muscle relaxation is common clinical routine during anaesthesia, a reliable measurement of the neurophysiological effects evoked by a painful stimulus is still missing. Recently, the surgical stress index (SSI) has been introduced as a surrogate measure of 'nociception'. The present study aimed to examine the influence of increasing remifentanil concentrations on the ability of SSI to detect a standardized painful stimulus during sevoflurane anaesthesia. ⋯ The SSI response to tetanic stimulation was dependent on the remifentanil concentration.
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The implementation of the European Working Time Directive (WTD) has reduced the hours worked by trainees in the UK to a maximum of 56 h per week. With a further and final reduction to 48 h per week scheduled for August 2009, there is concern amongst doctors about the impact on training and on patient care. Paediatric anaesthesia is one of the specialist areas of anaesthesia for which the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) recommends a minimum caseload during the period of advanced training. ⋯ Since the implementation of the WTD, there has been a significant reduction in the number of cases performed by SpRs in paediatric anaesthesia and they are no longer achieving the RCoA recommended minimum numbers for advanced training.