Hyderabad: Injecting too much anaesthesia or doing it too quickly and inappropriate ventilation are some of the major reasons for complications that can arise after the drug is administered to the patient.
Recently, the city witnessed two children and a middle-aged woman lapsing into coma due to anaesthesia overdose. City anaesthesiologists, who met for a conclave at Gandhi Medical College on Saturday stated that such complications were seen where international standards, which are set for safe administration of anaesthesia, are not followed.
According to guidelines, anaesthetic drugs are administered considering the patient’s body weight, and the dose recommended for a child weighing 10 kg is 50 mg.
Dr M. Viresham, senior anaesthesiologist at Gandhi Hospital, said, “In case of children, congenital diseases need to be evaluated before giving anaesthesia. At the same time, patients with high BP and those aged above 65 years must be closely evaluated as there are chances of complications. Hence, surgery is to be carried out only if the ailment is life-threatening.”
Anaesthetic drugs dramatically lower the patient’s blood pressure and every human body reacts differently.
A senior doctor, on condition of anonymity, said: “This is one of the prime reasons where calculation and evaluation of the patient becomes a risky job. It is especially difficult in the case of overweight patients, as any overdose can lead to a dangerous decline in blood pressure and, if it is not stabilized, then the patient is at risk of serious injury or even death.”
As it affects the central nervous system often in the first few hours, the patients are found to suffer from dizziness, drowsiness and visual and auditory problems. Dr Uday Kiran, senior anaesthesiologist, said.
“This is a common symptom in all patients and they recover soon. Complications are rare but cannot be ruled out and that is where we have to find out what is going wrong. Is it wrong administering of the medicine or is it overdose, must be ascertained,” he said.
Asked about the issue, a senior member of the TS Medical Council, on condition of anonymity, said, “The case of overdose is not only complicated, but difficult to prove. It becomes a very tedious inquiry and many relatives of victims move away. But it is important to look into it medically and find out where and what went wrong to avoid similar incidents in future.”
