Prevention and treatment of complications associated with general anaesthesia

The complications arising in association with the administration of general anaesthetics to 2658 inpatients for oral surgical procedures from 1978 to 1982 and to 999 outpatients from 1977 to 1981 are reported. In the two series of patients complications occurred with overall incidences of 17.2 and 25.1 per cent respectively. In the inpatient group the incidence of complications rose with age, with an increase in the surgical risk factor, and occurred with different frequencies according to the anaesthetic regime used. Most complications were met during the induction and maintenance phases of anaesthesia. In both phases, cardiac arrhythmias were prominent. In outpatients, the incidence of complications was high among those who were intubated but much less when insufflation anaesthesia was used. Sedation methods in outpatients were almost free of complications. Most of the complications occurred during emergence from anaesthesia and in the early postoperative period. Nearly all patients receiving insufflation anaesthesia returned home on the same day but about three-quarters of those being intubated remained in hospital overnight.