Practice Guidelines for the Prevention, Detection, and Management of Respiratory Depression Associated With Neuraxialn Opioid Administration: An Updated Report by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Neuraxial Opioids and the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine

( Anesthesiology. 2016;124:535–552) Practice guidelines are systematically developed recommendations that enable the practitioner and the patient to make informed health care decisions. They may be adopted, modified, or rejected based on clinical needs and constraints, and are subject to revision as necessitated by the advancement of medical knowledge, technology, and practice. This review is an update of the American Society of Anesthesiologists guidelines for the prevention, detection, and management of respiratory depression associated with neuraxial opioid administration. The purpose of these updated guidelines was to improve patient safety and anesthetic care quality by decreasing the incidence and severity of neuraxial opioid-related respiratory depression. These updated guidelines focused on managing patients receiving epidural or spinal opioids in inpatient or ambulatory settings. A thorough methodology was used in the preparation of these guidelines by obtaining scientific evidence and opinion-based evidence.