‘The Cauldron’ is an Intensive Care Society tradition unique to the State of the Art Conference. It is an opportunity for trainees to receive well-deserved national exposure and to pit ideas, wit and verbal dexterity against each other, and a panel of old (not necessarily wise) judges. The presentations are deliberately provocative, eternally popular and always insightful. This year debates took place in Westminster, London, on 12th December. The Cauldron was ably chaired by Dr Laura Vincent and Dr Aoife Abbey. The judges, who assumed the persona of fire breathing Dragon’s Den judges, were Professors Mervyn Singer, Kathy Rowan and Peter Brindley. The following abstracts were prepared by the presenters with assistance from Professor Brindley and Dr Vincent. We are grateful to the Journal of the Intensive Care Society for the opportunity to share the work of such talented young healthcare professionals.
Proceedings of the Intensive Care Society and Riverside Group ‘State of the Art’ Meeting, London, December 17-18, 2001
