This is the next tutorial in the fundamentals of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Series. I consider the material contained to be core knowledge.
Carbon Dioxide Content of Blood and CO2 Transport
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Author Archives: Pat Neligan
Fundamentals of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Series
Here are the first 9 Tutorials in the Series – the majority are useful for Anesthesiologists and Intensive Care practitioners. Every tutorial contains something that you may not have previously known: I guarantee, who ever you are, that you’ll learn something.
Tutorial 1: Saturated Vapor Pressure
Tutorial 2: The Gas Laws
Tutorial 3: Mixtures of Gases
Tutorial 4: The Alveolar Gas Equation
Tutorial 5: Henry’s Law
Tutorial 6: Carbon Dioxide Solubility
Tutorial 7: Oxygen Solubility
Tutorial 8: Oxygen Content of Blood
Tutorial 9: Oxyhemoglobin Dissociation
New Series – Fundamental of Anesthesiology – Gases and Vapors
This is a new series on the Fundamentals of Anesthesiology – the first course is on Gases and Vapors. It should serve as a good introduction to the topic for early stage residents in Anesthesiology – but is also applicable in critical care and emergency medicine and nursing. For experienced practitioners it will be a straightforward refresher course – but I guarantee you’ll learn something.
First up I discuss the forgotten gas – water vapor – and why it is really important in our practice. The main concept that you must learn is the Saturated Vapor Pressure.
Clinical Forum – Western Anaesthesia Symposium 2025
Here is a presentation that I gave at WAS in April – looking at the best papers that had been published in Critical Care up to that point in 2024-25.
A SHORT COURSE ON LOCAL ANESTHETICS
I published 3 tutorials on Local Anesthetics this Month. These are part of a new series of Anesthesiology Tutorials.
Tutorial 1 looks at the basic pharmacology of local anesthetics
Tutorial 2 looks at the various different drugs that we use, the volume and concentration. I discuss the maximum safe doses at the end of the tutorial.
Tutorial 3 looks at the history of, the diagnosis of and the treatment of Local Anesthetic Systemic Toxicity (LAST)
Metabolic Acidosis in 2025 – More Important than Ever!
This is a longer version of the lecture that I delivered at the 2025 College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland Annual Scientific Meeting.
Anaphylactic Shock
This tutorial, from the Introduction to Critical Care Series, looks at perioperative anaphylaxis. It covers topics that are relevant to practitioners in the OR, ICU, ED and wards.
Nutrition 3 – Timing and Route of Nutrition in ICU
This HI-Impact tutorial looks at the common questions relating to commencement and route of nutrition in critical care. Is TPN good, bad or indifferent. Is enteral feed better than parenteral? When should we start feeding? Is it useful to add parenteral feed to enteral if the patients’ caloric goals have not been met? When should patients achieve their isocaloric goals. I guarantee you’ll learn something.
Acute Coronary Syndromes and Cardiogenic Shock
This is a trio or tutorials on Acute Myocardial Ischemia, Acute Coronary Syndromes and Cardiogenic Shock.
Critical Illness Nutrition 2 – Calories, Protein, Enteral Route, Gastric Residuals
This is the second tutorial in the nutrition series. Previously I looked at metabolism in critical illness. In this tutorial I start to answer many of the questions that arise on rounds principally: how many calories does the patient need? How much protein? What are the routes of food administration? Is there a benefit to post pyloric feeding tubes? Should I feed the stomach continuously or by bolus? Should I check gastric residual volumes? I provide you with the answers to these questions using the best available evidence.
ORtoICU 