Chapter 53: Postanesthetic Care

INTRODUCTION

American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) Task Force published the practice guideline for postanesthetic care in 2002.¹ The purpose of these guidelines is to improve postanesthetic care outcomes for patients who have just had anesthesia and analgesia care.

General medical supervision and coordination of patient care in the postanesthetic care unit (PACU) should be the responsibility of anesthesiologists (ASA Standard IV).² The communication guidelines have been developed to improve coordinated patient care during response to urgencies/emergencies in the PACU in Labor and Delivery Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). These guidelines are modified to meet the needs of the specific patient population, obstetric patients, and to exceed the ASA Standards IV for postanesthesia care.

The goals for the BIDMC guidelines are specific to:

• Encourage high-quality patient care in the PACU.

• Promote multiple teams’ collaboration.

• Ensure effective communication between healthcare professionals.

• Share information and share appropriate responsibility.

BIDMC PACU care pathways include:

• The PACU Nursing Notification Pathways (Fig. 53-1)³

• PACU Handoff (Fig. 53-2)⁴

• PACU Postanesthesia Note (Fig. 53-3)

REFERENCES