Deep Breaths

This week, we have a really open and candid discussion about receiving a poor outcome after the ANZCA part 2 exam with two special guests - Dr Raymond Casey and Dr Aaron MacDonald.

In this the first of this 2-part topic, we start by talking about the work and life circumstances that both Raymond and Aaron found themselves in when preparing to sit their exam for the first time. We also talk to Raymond about everything that happened after the exam.

Aaron has kindly offered to let trainees experiencing difficulty in coping with part 2 exam failure to contact him. If you're interested in reaching out, please email us at [email protected] and we'll connect you. 

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you! 

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode. 

Thanks for listening, and happy studying! 

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you! 

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode.  

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

Today, we discuss a topic recommended to us by Dr David Tragen of the Sunshine Coast University Hospital - the perioperative management of the direct oral anticoagulant medications or DOACs. 

We start with some basic revision of the mechanism of action of the DOACs and their indications before diving more closely into the recommendations for stopping and starting these medications around the time of surgery, and the implications for our anaesthetic. 

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you!

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode.

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

Resources for today's episode:

2021 ANZCA Blue Book: Direct Acting Oral Anticoagulants - pharmacology and perioperative considerations by Dr Kate Drummond (p147)

TGA Website

RE-ALIGN Trial

GALILEO Trial

BMJ: Coagulation assessment with the new generation of oral anticoagulants by  Charles Pollack Jr

Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis: Laboratory testing in patients treated with direct oral anticoagulants: a practical guide for clinicians by J. Douxfils et al. 

PAUSE Trial

Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain: Regional anaesthesia in the patient receiving antithrombotic or thrombolytic therapy (ASRA 2018 Guidelines)

RE-VERSE-AD Trial

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you! 

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode.  

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

Deep Breaths returns next Monday with a fantastic array of topics that we're sure will make exam prep easier, and will keep your practice up to date. We'll also be joined by more wonderful guests this season and we can't wait to share their expertise with you all.

Lahiru Amaratunge's Viva Boot Camp - Anaesthesia Collective link:
https://www.anaesthesiacollective.com/viva-boot-camp/

Lahiru Amaratunge's Viva Boot Camp Online Course:
https://anaesthesia.thinkific.com/courses/FinalExam 
Use code: deepbreaths50 at the checkout for 50% off the price of the course. There are only 100 of these discounts available so don't miss out!

Feel free to email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments or suggestions.  

And for consultants and provisional fellows, don't forget to claim CPD for any episodes you listen to. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode. 

Happy studying, thanks for listening, and we'll see you on Monday July 18th!

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you! 

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode.  

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

Deep Breaths returns on Monday July 18th with our fortnightly release schedule that we hope you're all still enjoying. We hope you take the time over the June/July holiday break to recharge those batteries so that you're feeling good for the latter half of the year.

Season 5 will see us tackle more new topics that we hope will keep you up to date in your practice, and to help our exam candidates prepare for the ANZCA part 2 anaesthetic exam. We've got some wonderful new guests we're excited to introduce, as well as some voices that you've heard and enjoyed listening to previously.

Feel free to email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments or suggestions. 

Until next season, happy studying and thanks for listening. 

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you! 

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode.  

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

Today, we join you live from the QEII Anaesthetic Conference, and this episode is a little different. We explore some of the evidence behind those little pearls that we've learned in anaesthesia and that we've shared with you all during previous episodes.

Topics that we discuss include fatigue and how if affects performance, the mandibular protrusion test, and the use of dexmedetomidine in nerve blocks to name just a few.

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you! 

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode. 

Thanks for listening, and happy studying. 

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you! 

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode.  

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

In today's episode, we discuss challenges in the diagnosis and management of oesophageal intubation and anaesthetic crises in general. Recognising an oesophageal intubation may seem simple, but by looking at coroner's cases both here in Australia and in the UK, as well as cases in the NAP4, it can be far more complex. 

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you!

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode.

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

Resources for today's episode include:

NSW Coroner's Court website

Why does oesophageal intubation still go unrecognised? Lessons for prevention from the coroner’s court

National Audit Project 4

ANZCA Professional Documents

Red Man Syndrome 

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you! 

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode.  

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

Today we discuss perioperative neurocognitive disorders - their definitions, potential pathophysiologies, diagnosis, and possible prevention & treatment strategies. 

Resources for this episode include:

Acute peri-operative neurocognitive disorders: a narrative review 

Recommendations for the nomenclature of cognitive change associated with anaesthesia and surgery - 2018 

Thanks for listening, and happy studying! 

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you! 

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode.  

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

In today's episode, we interview special guest Dr Annabelle Harrocks to chat about all things allergy testing - who, why, when, what and how! 

Listen in for a great practical chat which covers everything you didn't know about an important service for patients who have experienced serious allergic reactions under anaesthesia. 

Thanks for listening, and happy studying! 

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you! 

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode.  

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

In today's episode, we discuss the recently published PADDI trial (Perioperative Administration of Dexamethasone and Infection), and whether and how it will change our practice.

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

NEJM article - the PADDI trial

Introduction to multiplicity issues in clinical trials 

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you! 

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode.  

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

Continuing on from episode 6, we continue our interview with Dr Michael Kerr to discuss regional anaesthesia for the lower limbs. In this episode, we cover popliteal sciatic blocks and adductor canal blocks in detail, ideas for learning/practising blocks in a resource-constrained environment, and tips for dealing with surgeons when discussing regional anaesthesia for your patients. 

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!

Resources for this episode include:

Reading list -

Peripheral nerve block anesthesia/analgesia for patients undergoing primary hip and knee arthroplasty: recommendations from the International Consensus on Anesthesia-Related Outcomes after Surgery (ICAROS) group based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of current literature DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/rapm-2021-102750

Lower extremity regional anesthesia: essentials of our current understanding DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/rapm-2018-000019

Fascial plane blocks: a narrative review of the literature. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/rapm-2020-101909

Regional analgesia for lower leg trauma and the risk of acute compartment syndrome. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/anae.15504

Regional anesthesia and acute compartment syndrome: principles for practice. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/rapm-2021-102735

Youtube -
1. Duke - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqMt0yH0ZHez6wFFP6ZfECg/featured
2. Ki Jinn Chinn - https://www.youtube.com/c/KiJinnChin
3. NYSORA - https://www.youtube.com/c/nysoravideo
4. Amit Pawa - https://www.youtube.com/c/DrAmitPawa

Societies -
ESRA
ASRA

Journals -
RAPM - https://rapm.bmj.com/

Wellcome library

Feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. We love hearing from you! 

And don't forget to claim CPD for listening if you are a consultant or fellow. Log us as a learning session which you can find within the knowledge and skills division, and as evidence upload a screenshot of the podcast episode.  

Thanks for listening, and happy studying!