Figure 71-2 Complications in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU). Two studies examined the frequency of PACU complications. Among inpatients, 24% of patients had a complication, whereas among outpatients, only 8% of patients had a complication. Nausea and vomiting (N & V) were the most common in both studies. Life-threatening cardiovascular (CV) and respiratory complications were rare in outpatients. Nausea and vomiting accounted for 90% of the complications in outpatients. CNS, central nervous system. (Red bars—outpatients, from Duncan PG, Cohen MM, Tweed WA, et al: The Canadian four-centre study of anaesthetic outcomes. III Are anaesthetic complications predictable in day case practice? Can J Anaesth 39:440, 1992; black bars—inpatients, from Hines R, Barash PG, Watrous G, et al: Complications occurring in the postanesthesia care unit: A survey. Anesth Analg 74:503, 1992.)