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Chapter 3 - Anesthesia Equipment: Clinical Considerations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 May 2023

By
George Mychaskiw ,
Eric Ly ,
Austin Ly ,
Kelsey Rooney ,
Leah A. Kaplan ,
Stephen Patin ,
Victoria L. Lassiegne ,
Katherine C. Babin ,
George Thomas  and
Elyse M. Cornett
...Show all authors
Edited by
Alan David Kaye  and
Richard D. Urman
Alan David Kaye
Affiliation:
Louisiana State University School of Medicine
Richard D. Urman
Affiliation:
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston
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Summary

The anesthesia workstation, commonly referred to as the “anesthesia machine,” is a complex and very specialized piece of equipment that is relatively unique in medical practice. It is, in essence, a device to control the delivery of medical gases to patients, including oxygen, air, nitrous oxide, and volatile anesthetics, along with a specialized ventilator adapted to operating room conditions. The safe use of the anesthesia workstation requires proper training, preuse checkout, and continuous monitoring of its function. The medical literature is replete with examples of patient harm from inappropriate use of the anesthesia workstation and from mechanical or electrical failure of its components. Additionally, volatile anesthetics, while valuable in medical practice, have a very low therapeutic index and manifest severe, and even fatal, side effects when administered improperly. Finally, many patients under general anesthesia are paralyzed for surgery and ventilated through an endotracheal tube. Their safety is completely dependent on the anesthesia professional’s use of the anesthesia workstation to deliver breathing gases, remove carbon dioxide from exhaled gas, and precise administration of volatile anesthetics.

Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Handbook of Anesthesiology , pp. 41 - 59
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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