Key result
~60% of pediatric anesthesia stat calls occur during emergence, driven predominantly by respiratory issues.
Why the study?
Emergency Anesthesia Stat! calls remain common in medical centers, and analyzing post-procedure calls was hypothesized to yield actionable insights to enhance patient safety.
Cohort (n=82)
No
Most pediatric post-anesthesia emergency calls are respiratory-related and occur within 30 minutes of PACU arrival, supporting the need for continuous monitoring and advanced airway management skills during this period.
Emphasizes early PACU respiratory vigilance in pediatrics; leaves open whether targeted interventions reduce stat calls pending prospective trials.
Background Emergency "Anesthesia Stat!" (AS!) calls remain a common practice in medical centers even when advanced communication infrastructures are available. We hypothesize that the analysis of post-procedure "AS!" calls will lead to actionable insights which may enhance patient safety. Methods After institutional review board approval, we prospectively collected data from April 2015 through May 2018 on "AS!" calls throughout the pediatric operating rooms (OR), off-site locations, and post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) at a tertiary university medical center. Data recorded included demographic information, location, time of the event, event duration, vital signs, medications, anesthesia staff, attending anesthesiologist, and staff responding to the call. A narrative account of the event was also documented. Results A total of 82 "AS!" calls occurred, with ages ranging from 11 days old to 17 years old. Forty-nine of the 82 calls (60%) occurred at emergence. Seventy-one of the 82 calls (87%) were solely respiratory-related. Thirty-five of 49 emergence calls (71%) occurred in the PACU. Further, 34 of 35 PACU calls (97%) were respiratory-related, with 30 of 35 PACU calls (86%) associated with desaturation requiring intervention by anesthesia staff. Finally, 31 of 35 PACU calls (89%) occurred within 30 minutes of patient arrival to PACU. Conclusion Analysis of "AS!" events from our PACU continues to support the need for the prompt and continuous availability of at least one staff member with advanced airway management skills. Further, pediatric patients undergoing general anesthesia and surgery should likely be monitored for a minimum of 30 minutes following arrival in the PACU.
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Vishneski et al. (2021) conducted a cohort in Pediatric anesthesia emergencies (n=82). Anesthesia Stat! emergency calls was evaluated on Characteristics, timing, and etiology of Anesthesia Stat! calls. Of 82 pediatric 'Anesthesia Stat!' calls, 60% occurred during emergence, and 89% of PACU calls occurred within 30 minutes of arrival, predominantly due to respiratory issues.
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