Cardiac arrest due to anesthesia. A study of incidence and causes

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Abstract
Cardiac arrests due solely to anesthesia were studied in a large university hospital over a 15 yr period. There were 27 cardiac arrests among 163.240 anesthetics given, for a 15 yr incidence of 1.7/10,000 anesthetics. Of these patients, 14 (0.9/10,000) subsequently died. The pediatric age group had a 3-fold higher risk than adults and the risk for emergency patients was 6 times that for elective patients. Failure to provide adequate ventilation caused almost 1/2 of the anesthetic cardiac arrests and 1/3 resulted from absolute overdose of an inhalation agent. Hemodynamic instability in very ill patients was an association in 22%. Specific errors in anesthetic management were identified in 75%. Progressive bradycardia preceding the arrest was observed in all but 1 case.

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