Modern anaesthesia vapourisers.

Inhalational anaesthetic agents are usually liquids at room temperature and barometric pressure and need to be converted to vapour before being used and this conversion is effected using a vapouriser. Vapourisers have evolved from very basic devices to more complicated ones. Anaesthetists should understand the basic principles of anaesthetic vapouriser, including the principles that affect vapouriser output and how they influence vapouriser design.

Preoperative anxiety in neurosurgical patients.

Anxiety is common in surgical patients, with an incidence of 60% to 92%. There is little information on the incidence and severity of preoperative anxiety in patients scheduled for neurosurgery. The aim of this study was to measure the level of preoperative anxiety in neurosurgical patients and to assess any influencing factors.