What has been done to increase Patient Safety under Anesthesia?
With the development of new monitoring techniques, anesthesia has become safer. The ability to monitor a patient’s oxygen saturation and the concentration of carbon dioxide that is exhaled during breathing are critical to decreased risks. Even with the advances in technology, the most important aspect of the anesthetic is the vigilance of the anesthesia care provider. The risk of death from the anesthetic today is estimated at 1/200,000 anesthetics. This number in 1982 was 1/10,000 Back to Top Why can’t I Eat or Drink before Surgery? The likelihood that a patient will vomit during the anesthetic is increased with a short time interval between eating or drinking and the surgery. The most likely times for someone to vomit are going to sleep and waking up. If you vomit when your reflexes which protect your airway are impaired by the anesthetic medications, you risk life-threatening complications of aspiration and pneumonia. Emergency surgery requires special precautions be taken to minimi
