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BJA Advance Access originally published online on May 20, 2005
British Journal of Anaesthesia 2005 95(1):95-109; doi:10.1093/bja/aei132
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© The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia 2005. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journal.permissions@oupjournals.org

REVIEW ARTICLE

Injuries associated with anaesthesia. A global perspective

A. R. Aitkenhead*

University Department of Anaesthesia, The University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2UH, UK

* E-mail: Alan.Aitkenhead@nottingham.ac.uk

Keywords: complications, legal

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.


   Introduction
 
The anaesthetized patient is at risk of complications resulting from the actions, or inaction, of the anaesthetist, from the actions of the surgeon, and from failure or malfunction of anaesthetic equipment. The state of anaesthesia may be considered to be intrinsically unsafe. Patients are subjected to administration of drugs which have side-effects, particularly on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Unconsciousness carries with it risks of airway obstruction, soiling of the lungs, and inability to detect peripheral injury. Pharmacological muscle paralysis necessitates the use of artificial ventilation, making the patient dependent on the anaesthetist and his equipment for the fundamental functions of oxygenation and excretion of carbon dioxide. The anaesthetist may deliberately alter physiological functions, for example by inducing hypotension or ventilating only one lung.


   Estimates of mortality
 
Mortality is a vital estimate of risk associated with anaesthesia, the most important reason being that the definition is clear, in contrast to the more debatable . . . [Full Text of this Article]


   Estimates of morbidity
 
Other sources of information
Severe brain injury
Drug administration errors
Awareness during general anaesthesia
Obstetric anaesthesia
Peripheral nerve damage
Anaphylaxis
Damage to teeth
Eye injuries
Embolism
Regional anaesthesia
Spinal cord/nerve root damage
Pain during surgery
Miscellaneous injuries

   Conclusions
 

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