Anaesthetic complications in the recovery room.

INTRODUCTION

The immediate post-operative period in the recovery room is a known period of high risk for anaesthetic complications to occur.

AIMS

We wanted to know the incidence and nature of our recovery room patients in the main-theatre complex of Hospital Kuala Lumpur.

METHOD

A prospective study was conducted over a two-month period on all patients receiving either regional and/or general anaesthesia by an anaesthetic doctor admitted to this recovery room. Complications were documented according to predefined criteria.

RESULTS

Out of a total of 1,995 patients, 50(2.5%) had some form of anaesthetic complication. Fifteen patients had more than one complication. The most common was pain (23 patients) followed closely by nausea and vomiting (21 patients). There were 32 patients with CNS problems (including the 23 with pain), 21 with GIT, 10 with CVS, 2 with respiratory and 3 with other problems.

CONCLUSION

Our recovery room complication rate is acceptably low. Knowing the type and frequency of problems (in this case, mainly pain and nausea and vomiting) can further improve the figure. The role of anaesthesiologists has expanded as they are not only expected to ascertain the safety but also the comfort of patients post-operatively.