Our practice awareness with volatile gases and vapours.

Correspondence address: Anaesthetic Practitioner, North Devon District Hospital, Barnstaple, EX31 4JB. kstephensborg@aol.com

Journal of perioperative practice 2013 Mar

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The distinctive aroma that once identified hospitals is reminiscent of the days of using open ether anaesthesia. Throughout this period the risk of explosions posed a very real threat to operating theatres, and the attention to safety produced the means of maintaining security for clinical practitioners; moreover protecting the vulnerability of the unconscious patient. The creation of the Davy lamp in 1815 was to spark our continual awareness regarding the impact of gas and chemical pollution.