Hove Lars Dahlgaard, Steinmetz Jacob, Christoffersen Jens Krogh, Møller Ann, Nielsen Jacob, Schmidt Henrik
Rigshospitalet, Anaestesiologisk Afdeling, København Ø.
Ugeskr Laeger. 2007 Aug 20;169(34):2780-1.
We investigated the Danish Patient Insurance Association's files on patients registered as dead after a complication to anaesthesia. In 24 cases the patient's death was considered to result from the anesthetic procedure: six deaths were related to airway or ventilation management, four to central venous catheter placement, four as a result of medication errors, four from infusion pump problems and four after complications from regional blockades. Severe hemorrhage caused one death, and in one case the cause was uncertain. Several of the 24 deaths could potentially have been avoided.
