Criticare - A special feature on Anaesthesiology

Safe patient care in operating rooms

Dr BP Panigrahi

The specialty of anaesthesiology has become an important part of our healthcare system. Anaesthesia care has become a model for safe patient care.

The operating room happens to be central to any anaesthesiologist. The perioperative environment is changing to expedite surgical workflow, facilitate advanced surgical techniques, improve patient care, reduce the cost of perioperative care and prepare for more dramatic innovations in the coming years.

Long working hours in the operating rooms has become safer because of a host of monitoring modalities and good anaesthesia machines available to us, which was not available to our earlier generation.

The present day monitors not only help us in monitoring the patient’s haemodynamic status but also with the introduction of new technologies in neurological monitoring, studies have demonstrated improved central nervous system outcomes – bispectral index (BIS), transcrainal Doppler (TCD) and near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS). Awareness under anaesthesia, a bugbear for all anaesthesiologists is preventable and BIS has helped us.

Although the plethora of machines and monitors is a boon, it can be a recipe for disaster. Monotony of long working hours can detach the anaesthesiologist from the patient.

If one’s focus is only on the monitor, subtle changes may not be noticed. Someone, who, is not attentive, can miss out on important warning signals which can lead to an adverse event.

Eternal vigilance, adequate motivated staffing and being patient centric is the only way to deliver the safest care to the patients in operating rooms. It’s always the man behind the machine.

All anaesthesiologists must remain in touch with their patients and take the help of the various machines and monitors. This is the only way to provide safe patient care in our operating rooms.

The writer is director, anaesthesiology, Max Devki Devi Heart & Vascular Institute, New Delhi