Watch the trailer below for “Anaesthesia in the Head Trauma Patient” by Courtney Scales DipVN, NCert (Anaesth), RVN. If you want to watch it in full, click on Buy £8.00 on the video! You can view all of our available webinars here via our Vimeo On Demand Channel.

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Lecture Synopsis:

A patient with head trauma may present to your practice for many reasons including road traffic accidents, high-rise falls, kicks, gunshot wounds and penetrating or crushing injuries.

They may require anaesthesia for diagnostic imaging, fracture repair, wound closure or feeding tube placement.

These patients won’t just present with obvious trauma that needs airway access considerations; they may be in a neurological state indicating their brain has taken the hidden brunt of the trauma.

How should we stabilise these patients prior to anaesthesia and what considerations are there during the peri-anaesthesia and recovery period?

Learning Points:

  • Revision of the cranial anatomy and physiology
  • Describe the pathophysiology of raised intracranial pressure
  • Discuss the considerations of anaesthetising a patient with head trauma
  • Understand post-operative care considerations


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