Principles of Off-the-Floor Anaesthesia

Provision of anaesthesia outside of the operating theatre or ICU typically means reduced access to resucitation staff and equipment. These locations include:

• Radiology
  • MRI
• Cardiac catheter laboratories
• Psychiatry
• Dentistry
• Burns dressings

Considerations

• A
  • Airway equipment
  • Suction
• B
  • Primary and backup oxygen sources
  • Presence of bag-mask system
• C
  • Resuscitation drugs
  • Availability of defibrillation and pacing
• D
  • Anaesthetic drug availability
    • Scavenging for volatile agents
• Adequate equipment:
  • Availability of invasive and non-invasive monitoring
  • Power supply
  • Battery backups
  • Space
  • Lighting
• Adequate staffing
  • Resucitation trained staff

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References

1. American Society of Anesthesisologists. Statement on nonoperating room anesthetizing locations. American Society of Anesthesiologists, Park Ridge. 2013.
2. Youn AM, Ko Y-K, Kim Y-H. Anesthesia and sedation outside of the operating room. Korean Journal of Anesthesiology. 2015;68(4):323-331. doi:10.4097/kjae.2015.68.4.323.