What has been done to improve the safety of anesthesia?
Over the last twenty years anesthesia has become far safer. The American Society of Anesthesiologists has developed practice guidelines, establishing monitoring standards, and is now recognized as a leader in the field of medicine in managing risk and improving patient outcomes. More rigorous anesthesiology training with development of subspecialty expertise, advances in monitoring technology, and onging clinical research have all contributed to this trend. Today, anesthesiologists are trained in the use of advanced monitoring technology. The minimum ASA standard for monitoring on every case includes EKG, blood pressure measurement, pulse oximetry for patient oxygen saturation, inspired oxygen concentration, and exhaled carbon dioxide. For more complex cases, more advanced monitoring is available, including direct arterial blood pressure measurement, Swan-Ganz pulmonary artery catheter, EEG (brain wave monitoring) and TEE (transesophageal echocardiography). In spite of the incredible a
