Read more about the article Airway Management
Left - position of the tongue n anatomical position when lying flat in an unconscious patient. Right - shows position of the tongue during head tilt / chin lift manouvre

Airway Management

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Airway management is an important skill in Emergency Medicine, Critical care (including Intensive care and High Dependency (HDU)) as well as in anaesthetics. Without a sufficient airway, a patient will…

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Read more about the article Cannulation
An example of a very neatly stuck down cannula! This file is taken from wikimedia commons and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Cannulation

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Procedure Find the patient. Check they are the right patient, and then tell them what you are going to do. i.e. ‘we would like to put a needle in you…

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Read more about the article Catheterisation
Urinary Catheter with inflated balloon

Catheterisation

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Indications Urinary retention Monitor fluid output (e.g. post-op, renal failure, trauma, sepsis, general illness) – in pretty much all seriously ill patients! – also pre-op to measure urine output during…

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Read more about the article Cervical Screening
Cervical screening

Cervical Screening

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Introduction Cervical screening programmes have existed in many counties since the late 1980s. They have dramatically reduced the incidence of cervical cancer. In the mid 2000's, the advent of vaccines…

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Read more about the article Inserting a Chest Drain
The Safe Triangle for chest drain insertion

Inserting a Chest Drain

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The Safe Triangle The safe triangle is an anatomical space created by: Mid-axillary line / boarder of latissimus dorsi Lateral boarder of pec major Imaginary horizontal line from the nipple…

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Read more about the article Lumbar Puncture (LP)
A selection of spinal needles. Not the main needle pictures does not come with a stylet

Lumbar Puncture (LP)

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Lumbar puncture is a procedure conducted to ascertain if there is an acute meningitis or sub arachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), to detect inflammation in the spinal cord (e.g. in multiple sclerosis)…

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Setting up a Drip

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Speak to the patient – do the usually introduction, consent, and explanation of the procedure. If they already have a cannula in: Check how long the cannula has been in…

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