Essential Equations for Anaesthesia
Key Clinical Concepts for the FRCA and EDA

Covers all of the equations that candidates need to understand and be able to apply when sitting postgraduate anaesthetic examinations.

Edward T. Gilbert-Kawai (Author), Marc D. Wittenberg (Author)

9781107636606, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 May 2014

218 pages, 10 b/w illus. 24 tables
23.4 x 15.6 x 1.2 cm, 0.33 kg

'… a worthwhile and enjoyable read, easy to browse through and a good means of revision …' P. J. Venn, British Journal of Anaesthesia

A sound knowledge of equations and their use, derivation and clinical application is an absolute prerequisite for any anaesthetist. As a result, equations are a favourite question topic of examiners, particularly in the viva examinations. Many candidates answer these poorly, losing valuable marks and floundering when they face what they perceive as 'nightmare' questions. This book provides a simple, portable, reference guide to all the equations that candidates may be asked about during their examinations. The content is split into four sections: physics, pharmacology, physiology and statistics. Each equation is clearly explained, derived where necessary, and placed into a clinical context using a worked or clinically relevant example to demonstrate its use. Units and relevant terms are given and, where required, clear, concise diagrams have also been provided to simplify understanding. Written by anaesthetic trainees, this is an essential resource for preparation for the FRCA, EDA and other anaesthetic examinations.

Preface
Foreword
Part I. Physics: Section 1A. Gases: 1. Boyle's law
2. Charles' law
3. Gay–Lussac's law
4. Avogadro's law
5. Universal gas equation
6. Dalton's law of partial pressures
7. Henry's law
8. Graham's law of diffusion
Section 1B. Pressure and Flow: 1. Pressure and force
2. Hagen–Poiseuille equation and laminar flow
3. Reynold's number and turbulent flow
4. Laplace's law and tension
5. Bernoulli equation and Venturi effect
Section 1C. Electricity: 1. Ohm's law: voltage, current and resistance
2. Capacitance
3. Inductance
4. Work and power
5. Transformers
6. Electrical charge
Section 1D. Other: 1. Doppler equation and Doppler effect
2. Beer–Lambert law
3. Humidity
4. Natural frequency
5. Wave equation and ultrasound
Part II. Pharmacology: Section 2A. Pharmacokinetics: 1. Bioavailability
2. Volume of distribution
3. Clearance
4. Hepatic clearance
5. Concentration and elimination
6. Plasma concentration and compartment models
7. Loading dose and maintenance dose
8. Exponential function and rate constant
9. Half life and context-sensitive half life
10. Time constant
11. Rates of reaction
12. Michaelis–Menten equation
Section 2B. Pharmacodynamics: 1. Drug-receptor dissociation constant and affinity
2. Therapeutic index
Part III. Physiology: Section 3A. Cardiovascular: 1. Cardiac output and cardiac index
2. Stroke volume
3. Ventricular stroke work and index
4. Ejection fraction and fractional area change
5. Coronary perfusion pressure and coronary blood flow
6. Bazett's formula – QT interval corrected
7. The Fick principle – cardiac output measurement
8. The Fick equation – oxygen uptake measurement
9. Mean arterial pressure
10. Venous return
11. Total blood volume
12. Systemic vascular resistance
13. Uterine blood flow
14. Stewart-Hamilton equation
15. Oxygen delivery
16. Oxygen extraction ratio
17. Oxygen content
18. The dilution principle – measurement of fluid compartment volume
Section 3B. Respiratory: 1. Diffusing capacity
2. Compliance
3. Bohr equation
4. Alveolar ventilation equation
5. Alveolar gas equation
6. Helium dilution technique
7. Spirometry: forced expiration
8. Lung volumes and capacities
9. Respiratory quotient (and respiratory exchange ratio)
10. Shunt equation
11. Pulmonary vascular resistance
Section 3C. Renal: 1. Renal filtration fraction
2. Renal clearance and Cockcroft–Gault formula
3. Starling's equation – rate of filtration
4. Fick's law of diffusion
Section 3D. Cellular, Biochemical and Acid-base: 1. Osmolality, osmolarity and the osmolar gap
2. Morse equation and osmotic pressure
3. Anion gap
4. Goldman equation
5. Gibbs–Donnan effect
6. Nernst equation
7. pH
8. pKa
9. Acid-base compensation simplified
10. Henderson–Hasselbalch equation
Section 3E. Neurological: 1. Cerebral perfusion pressure and intracranial pressure
2. Intraocular pressure
Part IV. Statistics: 1. Binary classification tests and 2x2 tables
2. Negative predictive value
3. Positive predictive value
4. Specificity
5. Sensitivity
6. Relative risk
7. Relative risk reduction
8. Absolute risk reduction
9. Accuracy of test
10. Chi-squared test
11. Likelihood ratio
12. Standard error of mean
13. Standard deviation and variance
14. Power
15. Odds ratio
Appendix: 1. The international system of units
2. Units of measurement
Index.

Subject Areas: Medical study & revision guides [MRG], Anaesthetics [MMB]