Cardiac dysrhythmias during outpatient general anesthesia--a comparison study

Seventy-seven ASA Class I patients were studied to compare the cardiac dysrhythmias occurring during outpatient office general anesthesia for oral surgery to dysrhythmias occurring during outpatient medical and surgical office procedures without general anesthesia and to dysrhythmias occurring in inpatients having minor operating room procedures under general anesthesia. Eighty-eight percent of the operating room group, 81% of the oral surgery group, and 45% of the non-general-anesthetic group had some form of dysrhythmia. There was a statistically significant difference between the numbers of dysrhythmias that occurred in the general anesthetic groups and the non-general-anesthetic group. None of the dysrhythmias documented was of the potentially fatal or extremely serious category.