Channel Islands Regional Meeting Reviews
On Thursday 15th April on a sunny evening 20 nurses and vets gathered at the L’Horizon Hotel in Jersey to attend a meeting entitled Sevoflurane and Anaesthesia Refresher given by Mark Baxter and Elizabeth Case of Abbott Animal Health.
The format of the meeting was slightly different to the usual approach and we were asked to firstly to think of the goals of anaesthesia, what makes a good and bad anaesthetic. We were split into 3 groups to discuss these points and then give our ideas to the rest of the group.
Mark and Liz then proceeded with the presentation; they reviewed the goals of anaesthesia including The Anaesthetic Triad which comprises of unconsciousness, muscle relaxation and analgesia and they explained how to maintain the physiological norm (use as little anaesthetic agent as possible). After this aspect was covered the concepts of anaesthesia and the features of sevoflurane were discussed, this included the Blood:Gas solubility coefficient which determines how fast an agent acts and the Minimum Alvelor Concentration (MAC) which is a measure which allows the comparison of the potency of different anaesthetics.
Another interactive session was included, this was to discuss the various planes of anaesthesia (the stable, variable and the ideal anaesthetic plane) stating their advantages and disadvantages.
Mark and Liz finished the presentation by speaking about the economics of Sevoflurane and the practical benefits.
The meeting was well received and as most of the nurses and vets present were using Sevoflurane it was relevant and a good reminder of how Sevoflurane should be used and a good anaesthesia refresher in general. The interactive approach was interesting and thought provoking.
I would like to say a very big thank you to Abbott Animal Health for sponsoring the meeting and Mark and Liz for their hard work and efforts especially as they got ash bound from the volcano eruption! And finally thank you to all of the nurses and vets for their continued support.
Many apologies to the rest of the Channel Islands but as this was arranged so short notice I did not have time to inform you of the meeting being held in Jersey.