Perioperative mortality in developed and developing countries

摘要

Ether-based anaesthesia was introduced by William Morton in 1846. General anaesthesia has since been regarded as one of the most important medical advances; it has facilitated life-saving and enhancing surgical procedures and has protected patients from suffering and physiological duress. However, this advance came with a high toll. Until recent decades, there was a substantial risk of adverse events with general anaesthesia, and many patients died. Anaesthetists, recognising the need to prevent devastating complications, established patient safety initiatives and foundations. Examples include the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation in the USA, the Australian Incident Monitoring System, and the Safety Committee of the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland. Safer anaesthetic drugs were introduced, new surgical and anaesthetic techniques were pursued, pulse oximetry and capnography were incorporated into anaesthetic practice, simulation was included in training, and process improvement checklists were implemented.