Matt McMillan qualified as a vet in 2003 and spent 3 years in general practice before undertaking an internship at the Royal Veterinary College. He spent a year working as an emergency vet before starting a residency in anaesthesia at the University of Cambridge, where he stayed for a further 8 years, including 5 years running the clinical anaesthesia service. Matt became a diplomate of the European College of Anaesthesia and Analgesia in 2012 and gained RCVS recognised specialist status shortly after. Matt has a special interest in safety and is a regular speaker at national and international conferences on the subject. He has authored several research papers on safety, co-authored the book Errors in Veterinary Anaesthesia and was the chairperson of the working group of the Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists that developed the Anaesthetic Safety Checklist. Matt currently works as a consultant anaesthetist at The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre.

Foreword

Preface

Section 1: Introduction and general information

1 Introduction

2 How to use this guide

3 How to run the checklists

Section 2: General cognitive aids

4 Pre-anaesthetic assessment

5 Anaesthetic planning questions

6 Essential drugs

7 Anaesthetic machine checklist

8 Breathing system checklist

9 Essential equipment checklist

10 Difficult airway equipment checklist

11 Crash box

12 Safety checklist: pre-induction

13 Post-induction checklist

14 Safety checklist: before starting procedure

15 Safety checklist: before recovery

16 Recovery and patient handover checklist

Section 3: Crisis checklists and cognitive aids

17 Rapid situational assessment

18 Diagnostic considerations

19 Cardiopulmonary arrest and basic life support

20 Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) drugs chart

21 Difficult airway

22 Post-induction apnoea

23 Hypoxaemia, desaturation and cyanosis

24 Hypotension

25 Bronchoconstriciton

26 Haemorrhage

27 Hypertension

28 Bradycardia

29 Tachycardia

30 Hyperkalaemia - myocardial toxicity

31 Anaphylaxis and allergic reactions

32 Pulmonary embolism

33 Troubleshooting: pulse waveforms and pulse oximetry

34 Troubleshooting: capnography

Index