More than 80 percent of anesthesiologists have been involved in a catastrophic event involving death or injury to a patient during surgery, according to a survey study in the March issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia.
The researchers sent a survey regarding surgical catastrophes — events leading to unanticipated death or injury of a patient — to a nationwide sample of anesthesiologists. Of 659 responders, 84 percent had been involved in a catastrophe, with an average of 4.4 events over an entire career.
Two-thirds of the anesthesiologists felt their ability to care for patients was compromised in the hours after the event, and nearly 90 percent said it took some time to recover emotionally from the event. Nearly 20 percent said they had never fully recovered. Surgical catastrophes can have significant and lasting effects on anesthesiologists and other professionals, according to the report.
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The researchers sent a survey regarding surgical catastrophes — events leading to unanticipated death or injury of a patient — to a nationwide sample of anesthesiologists. Of 659 responders, 84 percent had been involved in a catastrophe, with an average of 4.4 events over an entire career.
Two-thirds of the anesthesiologists felt their ability to care for patients was compromised in the hours after the event, and nearly 90 percent said it took some time to recover emotionally from the event. Nearly 20 percent said they had never fully recovered. Surgical catastrophes can have significant and lasting effects on anesthesiologists and other professionals, according to the report.
Related Articles on Anesthesia:
ASA Urges Social Security Administration to Keep Sharing Death Report Data
Study: Brain Resists Emergence From Anesthesia
Pioneering San Antonio Anesthesiologist Dies at 89