Anaesthetic-Related Recovery Room Complications

Abstract

A prospective survey was conducted over a one-month period in all surgical patients admitted to the recovery room of a university-affiliated teaching hospital. Complications arising in the recovery room were documented by the nursing staff according to predefined criteria and were critically evaluated. A total of 443 patients were admitted to the recovery room and in 133 (30%) of these, some form of complication was noted. There were 86 patients with complications referable to the central nervous system, 68 with abnormal cardiovascular parameters, 24 with nausea and/or vomiting and 10 with abnormalities referable to the respiratory system. Many patients had more than one complication. The results are discussed, with emphasis on their relevance to current anaesthetic practice. It is concluded that many patients exhibit recovery room complications when they are specifically sought. The recovery period remains a time of great potential danger to patients.

Influence of anesthetics on pharyngeal flap surgery: a 23-year study

“…This frequency is considered high when compared with the complication rate associated with other surgery, which range from 10% to 30%. 6,19 The number of patients undergoing pharyngeal flap surgery was high at the authors' institution (2299 procedures). Two reasons that account for this are the length of time covered by the study and that the institution is a referral center for the treatment of craniofacial anomalies in Latin America.…”

“…In relation to hemodynamic complications, other studies have reported rates ranging from 3% to 55% 14,19 . The incidence of pain observed in this study (14%) was lower than those reported in other studies (20-75%) 5,20 .…”

Causes of tracheal re-intubation after craniotomy: A prospective study

“…[23] The rate of re-intubation in neurosurgical patients is found to be between 0.17% and 0.83%. [101112] Vidotto and colleagues retrospectively studied the outcome of elective craniotomy patients who were re-intubated within 48 hrs of a planned extubation and reported a re-intubation rate of 16%. [3] Patients who were on mechanical ventilation for up to six hrs after surgery were included in this study.…”

Nonawakening following general anaesthesia after ventriculo-peritoneal shunt surgery: An acute presentation of intracerebral haemorrhage

“…Zelcer and Wells[3] found a 9% incidence of unresponsiveness at the end of 15 min after general anaesthesia among 443 mixed surgical patients. Arousal beyond 15 min[3] and 30 min[4] is labelled as delayed emergence.…”

“…Zelcer and Wells[3] found a 9% incidence of unresponsiveness at the end of 15 min after general anaesthesia among 443 mixed surgical patients. Arousal beyond 15 min[3] and 30 min[4] is labelled as delayed emergence. Residual anaesthesia may either give the false impression of a neurological deficit[5] or prevent the early diagnosis of a developing intracranial lesion like haematoma, herniation and cerebral infarction.…”