Good morning from Portugal’s doctors updates conference (as featured in some national publications).
Expect some geeky anaesthesia tweets but let’s start with the morning beach run. Only 2km to get my feet used to barefoot sand running.
The sunset has nearly reached its autumn/winter position. Happy weekend everyone
If your patient has delirium post op, they usually have some other complication too. Check for infection, thrombosis etc, but also think “is this patient bleeding?”
Good morning everyone.
I’m at the #BGSconf this morning talking about delirium.
Caught @cswarbrick1’s excellent talk on the impact of delirium and the results of Snap3.
Delirium increases length of stay, mortality and all complications.
The latest episode of #AnaesthesiaOnAir features @doctorhelgi.bsky.social in conversation with retired anaesthetist Dr Maginness about the Omagh bomb.
Dr Maginness was an Omagh local and part of the medical response team.
Recorded at #Anaesthesia2025 in Belfast.
🎧 ow.ly/eFbz50WGczQ
#medsky
🏆ARTICLE OF THE MONTH: The other side of the barrier by @doctorhelgi.bsky.social
How subtle cues, teamwork & understanding between anaesthetists & surgeons improve patient safety.
👉 www.bjsacademy.com/bjs-academy/...
#PatientSafety #Anaesthesia #Surgery #medsky #surgsky
The other side of the barrier @doctorhelgi.bsky.social
How subtle cues, teamwork & understanding between anaesthetists & surgeons improve patient safety.
👉 www.bjsacademy.com/bjs-academy/...
#PatientSafety #Anaesthesia #Surgery #medsky #surgsky
Not as warm…
Tricky one… I mean the floral shirt still looks great so maybe just that again?
Thinking that end of September is a great time to go to a conference in the south of Portugal? Look no further…
(And yes this is the one where my “floral shirt” got featured in the Mail).
www.doctorsupdates.com/da-balaia
Thank you to parliament for allowing the assisted dying bill to progress.
It’s my life, I want the choice to be mine.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cg...
Thunder and lightning, very very frightening…
Keep the blood pressure higher in the situation of abdominal compartment syndrome. (This includes surgically induced such as laparoscopic surgery, especially when head down and of higher BMI). #rcoaupdates.
Turns out having an experienced physician individualising the treatment to that particular patient makes the biggest difference.
At risk patients though should generally have their intra-op blood pressure above 60 (mean arterial pressure that is). #rcoaupdates
Turns out targeting a particular blood pressure while under anaesthesia doesn’t make much difference, and the permissive group actually had less atrial fibrillation.
#rcoaupdates
The @RCoANews ‘s college tutor meeting in full flow. Our new vice president elect @drmumsjt introduces some of the new guidance for training progression. More flexibility, better appreciation of training obtained in “locally employed” posts.
Faster progression through training
Interesting development. I think this will prevent confusion and make it clearer to our patients who is treating them.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Exercise and training reduces the surgical stress response and prevents complications.
Why are we not doing this for every patient having a major operation?
#ea25
Hello everyone,
Reporting from #ea25 in Lisbon.
It makes sense that pre-op physical training reduces post-op complications, did you know that brain training does too?
#prehabilitation
Pre-op screening for frailty and cognitive impairment is only done in a minority of UK hospitals.
Should we be screening more? Should we discuss it pre-op?
Discussing delirium in pre-assessment reduces patient and relative distress if it does happen. #Anaesthesia2025
If you have emergency surgery you’re much more likely to develop delirium.
Delirium has an enormous effect on your length of stay in hospital. It increases by 5 to 10 days!
Post-op delirium increases your longer term mortality threefold. #Anaesthesia2025
#Anaesthesia2025
Frailty is a massive risk factor for post op delirium. Much more than having other significant medical conditions, which didn’t make that much difference.
We under-detect delirium but around 10% of our patients develop it.
#anaesthesia2025
The anaesthetic national audit projects are some of the most powerful in the UK.
We have a sneak peek at #SNAP3, looking at our older surgical patients, their frailty and any delirium experienced.
#Anaesthesia2025
Observe
Listen
Learn
Adjust
Your patient will probably have a hospital passport - please make sure you have a look at it and adjust your standard approach to accommodate their needs.
#Anaesthesia2025
Top tips continued:
- Don’t say “I’ll be back in ten minutes” (unless you really will be). Be less specific.
- Communicate clearly, use simple positive body language.
- Your standard approach may not work - your patient may not be able to count backwards.
#Anaesthesia2025
How do we communicate effectively with people with learning disabilities?
- Clear, jargon free written communication (we should do that for everyone, surely?)
- Decent hospital environment rather than a cattle market
#Anaesthesia2025
There’s a huge difference in life expectancy for people with learning disabilities. 20-28 years lower than the population.
People with learning disabilities are twice as likely to die from an avoidable death.
#Anaesthesia2025 #oliverscampaign
At #Anaesthesia2025 we are discussing the case of Oliver McGowan and communicating with people with learning disabilities. Many of us will have done the e-learning on his case (which I found very powerful).
Discussion at the end about the abandonment of Rowe v Wade and reproductive health.
Hospitals are mainly refusing to hand over records to the authorities hoping to pursue and prosecute women who wanted to access abortion care. #Anaesthesia2025
Does accommodation have problems?
It burdens other clinicians, causes scheduling problems and may increase delay in accessing care for the patient.
The objector themselves may feel complicit. #anaesthesia2025
