Minor Complications Of Anaesthesia

Abstract

Minor complications of anaesthesia were studied in three hundred in-patients by interviewing them post-operatively. This was done to determine their incidence and relationship to age, sex and duration of anaesthesia. Nausea and vomiting, contrary to Common belief, was found to be more Common in males than in females. Nausea was more frequent in eldery patients than young patients and vomiting was found to be more Common in young than older patients. It was observed that the duration of anaesthesia had Some correlation with these complications, though with modern anaesthetic agents like thiopentone,halothane, etc. the incidence of nausea an d vomiting tends to be low. Sore-throat, a common complication did not have much of sex difference but definitely the frequency increased with age and duration of anaesthesia. lr 's incidence was also higher in patients who had pharyngeal packs than those who had cuffed tubes, it was lowest in those who were on mask alone. Muscle pains were commoner in female than in male patients. It was commonest in those patients who were between fourteen and forty years old. The incidence of awareness was quite high in patients undergoing emergency caesarean section; these patients were poorly prepared and none of them had been given sedatives or narcotic drugs for pre-rnedication. Trauma to teet h and gums occurred in a few patients. Post-operative headaches were more common in females than in males. Conjunctivitis, which occurred in one patient, could be due to chemical irritation from anaesthetic vapours