This book is intended to bring together data and clinical guidelines for those involved in the practice of anaesthesia, whether they be specialists or not. It is designed to be a true handbook that will accompany its owner into the operating theatre, where it will serve as a practical reference guide, not as a textbook. We welcome comment, criticism, and suggestions for improvement of the contents; correspondence may be addressed to the authors at P. O. Box 63, Tygerberg 7505, Republic of South Africa. We wish to acknowledge help received from our colleagues over the years of publication: Dr. T.J.V.Voss, Prof. G.G.Harrison, Dr. C. M. Lewis, Dr. W. B. Murray, Prof. A. R. Coetzee, and Dr. W. L. van der Merwe. Acknowledgement is also made to "Anaesthesia Guidelines," long since out of print, on which the first edition of this handbook was based in 1978. Tygerberg, South Africa, May 1987 P.A.Foster l.A. Roelofse v Contents Chapter 1 I. Pre-anaesthetic Assessment and Preparation 3 A. Anaesthetic Risk Assessment 3 B. Cardiac Risk Index . . . . . . 6 C. Respiratory Risk Assessment 7 D. Hepatic Reserve and Anaesthetic Risk 8 E. Pre-anaesthetic Check List . . . . . . . 8 F. Detailed Check of Anaesthetic Machine 10 G. Requirements for Paediatric Anaesthesia .