[Anesthesia monitoring: degree of compliance with guidelines in Austria]

For the first time an evaluation of standard anesthetic monitoring was performed according to the guidelines of the Austrian Society for Anesthesiology, Resuscitation und Intensive Care Medicine (OGARI).

A questionnaire was delivered to all medical institutions performing anesthesia in Austria. A descriptive statistical evaluation was performed on all returned and completed questionnaires.

Generally, there is a high standard in compulsory monitoring and in PACU (actual compliance > 99%/85.8%). Supplemental equipment is required for disconnection alarm and measurement of inspired oxygen concentration (actual compliance: 98.3%/98.9%). Furthermore, measurement for inspired concentration of volatile anesthetics and relaxometry (actual compliance 68.7%/47.3%) has yet to be completed. University departments and regional hospitals have comparable standards (82.2% vs. 79.6%).

For the first time an Austrian-wide evaluation of anesthetic monitoring investigated the compliance with the 1992 recommendations of the Austrian Society of Anesthesiology, Resuscitation and Intensive Care Medicine. The data demonstrate that these recommendations including the anesthetic monitoring equipment have already been implemented to a high degree.