Chapter 71
- The Postanesthesia Care Unit
- Thomas W. Feeley
- Alex Macario
Recovery from anesthesia is, for most patients, a smooth, uneventful
emergence from an uncomplicated anesthetic and operation. However, for some patients,
recovery from anesthesia can be a life-threatening process best managed by skilled
medical and nursing personnel. For anesthesiologists, involvement in optimizing
safe recovery from anesthesia is a key component of perioperative medicine.
Postanesthesia care units (PACUs) often face the task of simultaneously
caring for patients waking up from routine surgery, patients recovering from regional
anesthesia, critically ill postoperative patients, and children emerging from the
frightening world of anesthesia and surgery. The facilities and staff must be experienced
and flexible to ensure proper early recovery as the patient emerges from anesthesia
and then to facilitate intermediate recovery when the patient achieves criteria for
discharge to the ward or directly home. These are important first steps to allow
patients to return to their normal activity.
