Peripheral intravenous (IV) access is utilized for volume resuscitation, medication administration, blood product transfusion, nutrition, lab draws, and many other reasons. It's a skill which anesthesiologists perfect through experience but often poses a challenge...

One of the most essential skills of airway management is the ability to bag ventilate a patient. This can be a reassuring sign in the event of an otherwise difficult airway and is something...

Let's start with a Wikipedia reference of medical abbreviations. A lot of these terms deal with the frequency of taking medications. Now let's analyze some common pairs: BID (twice a day) vs q12h (every...

Thromboelastography (TEG) is a simple way of assessing many parts of the coagulation cascade from primary and secondary hemostasis to fibrinolysis. Thrombus formation typically requires four components: platelets which form the initial hemostatic plug,...

An important aspect of understanding mechanical ventilation is knowing how to interpret peak inspiratory pressures (Ppeak) and plateau pressures (Pplat). What's the difference, and why does it even matter? Think of the ventilator, inspiratory limb...

Intraoperative hypotension (and to a lesser degree, hypertension) are very common issues which can occur in any case, so it's important to have a methodical approach in diagnosing the etiology as well as treating...

"Induction" refers to the first major step in general anesthesia where agents are used to confer sedation and ultimately loss of consciousness. For the most part, induction agents modulate the GABA receptor, the chief inhibitory...

Endotracheal intubation is a skill learned by many specialties - anesthesia, emergency medicine, and critical care to name a few - which can have serious repercussions if not performed properly. Once the laryngoscope has...