New year, same anaesthetic chaos.

I am currently typing this during my "small study break" bringing hopeful tidings and congratulations for making it past 2025. As we proceed into 2026, from me and the newsletter team I'd like to wish a Happy New Year (for two days later), to everyone — and welcome to this new year..
Whether you’re returning from leave refreshed, a call or easing back in gently, here’s the first UP Anaesthesia society papers for next year to get us moving again.

(Click on view in browser to view)

✈️ UP Updates

🧾 Administrative Notes

• UP Registration fees — please remember not to splurge on presents and events. This will probably cost approx R12000+ as it was already R12000 in 2025.

Leave and Roster

Please do all communication with regard to leave via email and email only. Should you feel the need for a reply, perhaps gently remind our consultants that you have sent them an email should your leave request be extremely urgent and pressing.

• Please see link below for the leave roster for SBAH
  • NB: Please notify Dr Morosi re exam leave, academic courses/etc extended leave to allow her to help you plan your leave. Communication regarding leave is to be done via email only.
  • Call requests: Dr Maladze By the 10th of each month via email [email protected]
• At Kalafong:
  • Dr van der Merwe [email protected]
  • Dr Voigt [email protected]
• If you’re interested in helping with education, research summaries, or the newsletter, now is a great time to get involved.

SBAH Leave Roster 2026

Google Docs

🎓 Education & Exam Prep

• FCA1 / FCA2 Candidates (2026):
  • January marks the start of structured revision. Please see below roster for planned tutorials.
  • For us that are planning to write this semester and the next, a heartfelt prayer and wish for all of us to excel and be able to remember everything we studied and all our hardworking to payoff.
  • Just to mention, express our gratitude and thank our consultant teams both at Kalafong and Steve Biko who tirelessly help us prepare for these tough times.

🌐 Resources available

• There are different resources available that might not be widely known:
  • Special mention to Dr Uys for formulating Anaesthesia Vault
  • Anaesthesia tutorial of the week
  • NYSORA
    • They have branched and expanded a little beyond just regional techniques.
  • OpenAnaesthesia
    • Point form summaries of different topics
  • UpToDate
    • We have access via UP library -connect it to your account and you will be able to access it via your phone PRN
  • Anaesthesia Clinics
    • Dr Siyaka recommends this highly
• Your seniors and colleagues
  • We have all collected and ±updated parts of our inheritance from previous seniors. Please do not hesitate to ask.
• Dr van Dyk has tirelessly approached consultants and compiled this list of academic programs as mentioned above.

🏥 Clinical Highlight of the Month

Acute Atrial Fibrillation in the Perioperative Setting

(Because January loves arrhythmias.)

Why it matters:

• Common perioperative complication.
• There is an update that came out 2023.
• Associated with haemodynamic instability, stroke risk, and longer hospital stays

Key considerations:

• Confirm diagnosis (ECG) and assess stability
• Identify reversible precipitants (sepsis, hypovolaemia, hypoxia, pain)
• Rate vs rhythm control depends on timing, symptoms, and haemodynamics
• Anticoagulation decisions hinge on AF duration and stroke risk
• There is a movement towards DOAC's
• The focus in terms of treatment also has emphasised prevention

For everyone that relearns ECG's before exams, LITFL is an amazing resource NOT to be forgotten.

📚 Research / Evidence Snapshot

Featured Paper

Anaesthetic Technique and Long-Term Cancer Outcomes

• 🧪 Design: Large multicentre RCT
• 👥 Population: Patients undergoing cancer surgery
• 💉 Comparison: TIVA vs volatile anaesthesia
• 📊 Outcome: No difference in cancer recurrence or survival
• 🫀 Take-home: Choice of anaesthetic should be guided by patient and surgical factors, not cancer outcomes alone

Quick Reads

• Perioperative beta-blockers: timing still matters
• Vasopressors and cerebral perfusion — dose-dependent effects
• Regional anaesthesia in anti-coagulated patients: guideline updates

🧠 Exam Corner

Aortic Cross-Clamping

Physiological effects:

• ↑ Afterload and myocardial oxygen demand
• ↓ Cardiac output (depending on clamp level)
• Ischaemia distal to clamp → acidosis and lactate accumulation

On release:

• Sudden ↓ SVR
  • NB Communication with surgeons - slow release, fluid resuscitation or bolus as needed.
• Washout of metabolites → hypotension, arrhythmias

OpenAnaesthesia has lovely flow charts on this topic if you would like to read further

Please note, you might need login via UP library first and click remember me for your convenience to access these resources.

📅 January Events & Reminders

• As you guys have seen, I have tried to update the birthday chart. My sincerest apologies if I have missed your birthday. It was probably not on the previous calendar. Please let me know so I can fix it for next year's calendar and add your birthday to the current one. Without further ado, as per the calendar, we have a few birthdays for January
• 4th January: Dr Piruntha Naidoo
• 13th January: Dr Aleks Latusek
• 16th January: Dr Andrei Alberts
• 24th January: Dr Eden van der Westhuizen

From the newsletter team, we are wishing each and every one of you guys and girls warm birthday wishes. We are grateful for the dedication, expertise, and collegial spirit each of you brings to our team. We hope the year ahead is filled with good health, professional growth, and time to enjoy the things that matter most outside of work. Thank you for everything you do, and we wish you a very happy birthday and a wonderful year ahead.

😭💜 Jeremy’s Corner

Here I again thank everyone that takes out some of their precious time to read this newsletter. A corner where we all have shared a little of ourselves and have exposed some vulnerabilities. A small confession is sometimes we try to quickly output a newsletter for the month and as a result we may have omit important events and items not out of malice. Please forgive me if someone is left out on this issue as well.

Through some of my posts, I am sure some of you have gathered a little about my current predicament, I thank and appreciate everyone for providing me with space, privacy and support to heal. I am doing well and have found renewed focus. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank every single person that has thought of me and/or checked in, in some form. It is appreciated. With this said, I now pass the newsletter baton over to Llewellyn from this edition on. I will return to write some entertaining posts again post exams.

Hoping to update some of your new year resolutions to include:

• Loving yourself more
• Prioritising self-care more
• Not leaving exam prep till last minute 🤐
• Meal prep (Below is a recipe)

…remember: survival is still a valid primary outcome, although my wish is for everyone to thrive.

🍽️ Air Fryer Recipe of the Month — Honey Soy Salmon

Ingredients (2 servings):

• 2 salmon fillets (I found Basa fillets from woolies at ±R70 as a decent substitute)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• Optional: chilli flakes, spring onions

Instructions:

1. Mix sauce ingredients.
2. Brush generously over salmon/Fish fillets
3. Air fry at 180°C for 7–9 minutes.
4. Garnish and serve with rice or greens.

Woolies have started selling Cauliflower rice at R49 for 2 servings and a low carb and gluten free 😉 option for volume eating.

Macros (per serving):

Macros may differ if you substitute different items 💜

• Calories: ~330
• Protein: 34g
• Fat: 18g
• Carbs: 9g

💌 Final Words

Here’s to a steady start to 2026 — fewer emergency airways, more coffee breaks, and manageable call schedules.

As always, feedback and contributions are welcome. Please contact Llewellyn to maybe write an article or two. A breath of fresh air or venting about things are all welcomed.

Warm regards and all my love,
Jeremy