Frequency of anesthetic cardiac arrest and death in the operating room at a single general hospital over a 30-year period

Abstract Study Objectives: To determine the anesthetic cardiac arrest (CA) and death rates in the operating room (OR) and to determine whether anesthetic CA and death are preventable. Design: Prospective study. Setting: OR suite of a general teaching hospital. Patients: 85,708 patients undergoing surgery over a 30-year period. Measurements and Main Results: Anesthetic CAs and deaths were identified, their causes and preventability were determined on the day of occurrence, and they were recorded over the years 1962 to 1992. Four anesthetic CAs (0.5 arrest per 10, 000 anesthetics) and 1 death (0.1 death per 10, 000 anesthetics) occurred during the 30-year study period. Conclusions: The results of 30 years' experience do not support the hypothesis that all anesthetic CAs and deaths are preventable. However, careful clinical management can reduce their frequency to a level lower than those reported in the referenced literature.