[Anesthesia-related morbidity and mortality]

Abstract

Anesthesia-related mortality rate is estimated at 1 death per 10,000 procedures. Four general failures in anesthesia management are responsible for the majority of deaths: difficult intubation, aspiration, insufficient ventilation, and insufficient volume substitution. More than half of all critical incidents are considered preventable--by better patient preparation, better monitoring or increased vigilance. One in ten patients complains of simple complications such as nausea, vomiting, or a sour throat. In addition, 10% of all patients experience intra- or postoperative complications such as arrhythmia, hypo- or hypertension. Several patient-related factors, such as age or the number of coexisting diseases, as well as management factors, such as choice of anesthetic technique or the experience of the anesthesiologist, are important determinants of morbidity and mortality. This review gives a comprehensive summary of recent results in risk-analysis and the study of critical incidents in anesthesia.