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Early postoperative emergencies requiring an intensive care team interventionThe role of ASA physical status and after‐hours surgery
Author(s) -
Lee A.,
Lum M. E.,
O'Regan W. J.,
Hillman K. M.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
anaesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.839
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2044
pISSN - 0003-2409
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2044.1998.00395.x
Subject(s) - medicine , odds ratio , intensive care , incidence (geometry) , confidence interval , emergency medicine , surgical team , odds , anesthesia , intervention (counseling) , rapid response team , intensive care medicine , surgery , nursing , logistic regression , physics , optics
To examine the risk factors of early postoperative emergencies that required an intensive care team intervention, a matched nested case‐control study (34 cases and 126 controls) was conducted. Over a 17‐month period, the incidence of early postoperative emergencies occurring within 48 h of surgery was 0.21% (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.14%‐0.30%). The intensive care team treated two cardiac arrests and three respiratory arrests. The major physiological changes which led to ward staff summoning an intensive care team were hypotension (13 cases) and a decreased level of consciousness (nine cases). Significant associations with early postoperative emergencies were high ASA (≥ IV) physical status grades (odds ratio: 4.51, 95% CI: 1.24–16.40) and surgery performed outside normal working hours (odds ratio: 4.40, 95% CI: 1.41–13.69). High‐risk patients may benefit from a visit by a postoperative care team during the early postoperative period but this requires further evaluation.