General anesthesia in patients undergoing diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
1. Indication
- Abdominal and thoracic procedures
- Head and neck soft tissue procedures
- Lateral decubitus and prone procedures
- Procedures in morbid obesity
- Emergency procedures in patients at risk for aspiration (RSII - rapid sequence induction and intubation)
2. Contraindication
- None
3. Required
- Detailed informed consent discussion
- Physical examination and history
- Possibly additional studies (e.g., lab panel, chest films, cardiological studies)
- Patient informed consent
4. Workflow description
- Device check by the nurse anesthetist
- Nursing staff premedicates patient at least 30 minutes before surgery is started, with midazolam oral syrup dosed as suggested below:
> 65 years: 0.1 mg/ kg
≦ 65 years: 0.15 mg/ kg
≦ 45 years: 0.2 mg/kg
Upon transfer of patient to nurse anesthetist
- Check name of patient
- Check surgical field
- Ask patient if fasting
- Attach leads for monitor, ECG, NIBP, pulse oximetry
- IV access and infusion
- Document baseline measurements in anesthesia record
- Prepare induction medication and materials needed for ventilation
- Position patient on OR table
- Anesthesiologist reviews the documents and checks them for completeness
- Preoxygenate the patient with 100% oxygen via face mask
- Administer opiate observing blood pressure and time to onset
- Administer hypnotic until blink reflex lapses
- Bag-valve-mask ventilation, possibly with an oropharyngeal airway
- Check BVM ventilation and relax patient
- Open mouth and check teeth
- With the laryngoscope and by patient positioning adjust the oral, pharyngeal and laryngeal axes for best view of the glottis
- Intubate trachea, under direct vision if possible
- Check black marking on tube
- Block tube
- Ventilate and auscultate
- Secure tube and oropharyngeal airway
- Transport patient into OR
- Hook up patient to ventilator in the OR
- Check capnometry
- Adjust flow, FiO2 and concentration of anesthetic gas
- Hook up patient to monitor units
- Check patient position
- After checking for possible allergies administer antibiotics
- Insert central venous and/or arterial catheter
- Maintain patient's core body temperature
- Administer medications to maintain anesthesia
- Release patient to OR team
- Prepare preemptive analgesia protocol
5. Intraoperative monitoring
- Single-channel ECG
- NIBP
- Pulse oximetry
- Capnometry
- Check ventilation settings
- Measure end-expiratory CO2 concentration
- Measure inspiratory and expiratory anesthetic gas concentration
- Measure inspiratory and expiratory oxygen concentration
- Measure urinary excretion
- Neuromuscular monitoring
- Temperature
6. Emergence
- Check retained relaxation
- Check opiate overhang
- Wash out anesthetic gas through high-flow setting
- Prepare suction unit
- Restore patient's spontaneous breathing
- Extubate in presence of protective reflexes
- Oral or endotracheal suction
- Observe patient's respiration after extubation
- Test vigilance
- Inform recovery room
7. Hand over to recovery room
- Hand over patient to nursing staff of recovery room
- Check drains
- Check vigilance
- Hook up to monitor units
- Administer oxygen if needed
- Anesthesiologist discharges patient from recovery room
Author: Prof.C. Diefenbach, MD Head, Department of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care
St. Katharinen-Hospital Frechen GmbH, Germany