BMJ 1994;308:1637-1638 (18 June)

Letters

Recovery from anaesthesia

EDITOR, - As John N Lunn states,1 recovery room facilities in most hospitals meet the recently published requirements of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.2 In most hospitals, however, patients leave the recovery area to receive a variable standard of care in a surgical ward, which often contrasts sharply with that provided in the operating theatre and recovery room. This imbalance conflicts with recent evidence suggesting that adverse events occurring in the first three days postoperatively are as important as those occurring intraoperatively.3,4

Three years ago the Association of Anaesthetists published a document proposing the development of specific high dependency units to provide a level of care intermediate between that provided in intensive care units and that provided in general wards.5 Such units would allow high risk patients to be grouped together; all such patients require skilled nursing, careful monitoring of physiological variables, meticulous fluid management, oxygen . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Recovery from anaesthesia
John N Lunn
BMJ 1994 308: 804. [Extract] [Full Text]

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