Anaesthesia on the Internet

The Internet is a collection of tools which allows electronic communication of text, sound, and pictures. It can be used to send messages to individuals (e-mail) to groups (newsgroups and discussion groups), or to publish multimedia documents (on the World Wide Web).

Anaesthesia resources on the Internet come in all three categories:

1) E-mail

Many anaesthetists have e-mail addresses. It is often hard to get hold of us, as we are in the OR and unavailable much of the day. In the evening, we are either on call or resting. An e-mail message can wait until it is convenient to pick up the message.
Unfortunately, there is no comprehensive list of e-mail addresses. You can try:

1. The Canadian Anaesthesia E-mail Directory at www.anesthesia.org/professional/can_email.html
2. The International E-mail Directory at web.inter.nl.net/hcc/Stef.Olofsen.Post/ebookint.htm

or one of the general directories of e-mail addresses such as the one in C Net's Search Utility (www.search.com). Often the easiest way is to phone, then store the address in your e-mail program.

2) Discussion Groups

Send one message to the Anesthesiology Discussion Group and it will be forwarded automatically to all 1,600 members of the list, around the world. You will probably get 3 - 10 replies over the next 1 - 4 days, either to the Group or to your personal e-mail address. A great way to get quick and practical advice.

I have established a list for Local Anaesthetics and Regional Anaesthesia. It has a web site at http://www.oyston.com/lara-l/help.html. There are also groups for Paediatric Anaesthesia and for Intensive Care.

To join one of these groups:

Local Anaesthetics and Regional Anaesthesia

To subscribe, send "subscribe lara-l yourname" to listproc@larrymed.yale.edu.

Anesthesiology (Keith Ruskin's GASNet list)

To subscribe, send "subscribe anesthesiology yourname" to listproc@gasnet.med.yale.edu

Anaesthesia and Intensive Care

To subscribe, send "subscribe AIC-L youremailaddress" to majordomo@mailbox.uq.oz.au

Paediatric Anaesthesia Conference

To subscribe, send "subscribe pac" to macjordomo@anaes.sickkids.on.ca

3) Web Sites

There is considerable useful information about anaesthesia (including regional anaesthesia) available on the World Wide Web However, at present it is very incomplete and scattered around many sites. You can try using the general search engines such as "Yahoo" (www.yahoo.com/Health/Medicine/Anesthesiology/) and "Alta Vista" (altavista.digital.com), or go to comprehensive lists of anaesthesia web sites such as "GASNet" (gasnet.med.yale.edu) or A J Wright's List of Anaesthesia Resources on the Internet (www.eur.nl/FGG/ANEST/wgt1_3.html). Another alternative is the "Virtual Anaesthesia Textbook" (www.usyd.edu.au/su/anaes/VAT/VAT.html), which attempts to provide links to all the useful content of anaesthesia Web sites. It is currently incomplete, but there are chapters on local anaesthetic drugs (www.oyston.com/vat/la.html) and regional blocks (www.oyston.com/vat/ra.html).

There is a list of Anaesthesia Meetings (www.oyston.com/anaes/meet.html) which sometimes lists conferences on regional anaesthesia.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr John Oyston, MB BS, FFARCS, is a certified specialist anaesthetist, currently working in the Anaesthesia Department of Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. He can be reached by e-mail to . The opinions expressed in this document are his personal opinions.