The Anesthesia Consultant

OCTOBER 11, 2020

An anesthesia machine, with the vital signs monitor screen on the left, and the electronic medical records computer screen on the right. His vital signs are heart rate = 100, BP = 150/80, respiratory rate = 20 breaths/minute, oxygen saturation 95% on room air, and temperature 100.2 The BP is 100/50.

Anesthesiologist 52

Anesthesiologist Vital Signs Post-Anesthesia Anesthesia 52

The Anesthesia Consultant

FEBRUARY 16, 2021

Your station in the operating room consists of an anesthesia machine; a bevy of vital signs monitors; a computerized pharmacy cart; a cart full of syringes and equipment; and the computer which handles the hospital’s electronic medical record (EMR). You may have nausea after general anesthesia.

Anesthesiologist 52

Anesthesiologist Operating Room Vital Signs Post-Anesthesia 52

The Anesthesia Consultant

NOVEMBER 4, 2021

On physical exam, her vital signs are normal, her lungs are clear, and her heart exam is positive for the clicking sound of a mechanical valve and a 2/6 systolic murmur. The surgeon injects 2% lidocaine at the skin incision site, and the surgery begins. Vital signs remain normal with BP=110/70, P=80, and oxygen saturation=99%.

Surgery 52

Surgery Vital Signs Anesthesiologist Post-Anesthesia 52

The Anesthesia Consultant

APRIL 26, 2018

Even though the patient was brain dead, it was imperative to maintain his or her vital signs and oxygenation at optimal levels to preserve the cardiac function for the eventual recipient. I also had to fill out a written anesthesia medical record to document what I was doing to the patient. At this point my work began.

Anesthesia 52

Anesthesia Operating Room Vital Signs Post-Anesthesia 52

The Anesthesia Consultant

FEBRUARY 23, 2018

Prior to the pulse oximeter, anesthesiologists had only unreliable measures of tissue oxygenation, such as observing how red the blood seemed when the surgeon made the initial incision into the patient. Anesthesia was a more dangerous undertaking without true second-to-second knowledge of the patient’s oxygenation.

Anesthesiologist 52

Anesthesiologist Post-Anesthesia Anesthesia General Anesthesia 52

The Anesthesia Consultant

MARCH 2, 2018

Prior to surgery your patient tells you, “I always get a hangover after general anesthesia. Hangover after general anesthesia (HAGA) describes a patient who has a safe general anesthetic, but who then feels hungover, sedated, and wasted for a time period exceeding two hours afterwards. The patient is always right.

General Anesthesia 52

General Anesthesia Anesthesia Incision Post-Anesthesia 52