Anesthesia Overdose and Underdose: When Mistakes Become Life-Threatening

Anesthesia is commonly used for patient comfort and to ensure cooperation during surgical procedures. It is administered by a medical doctor with specialized training in anesthetic use and patient care. Doctors typically work with patients to formulate specific anesthesia plans to fit particular patient needs.

The anesthesia malpractice lawyers at Lopez McHugh, LLP know that anesthesia overdose injuries rarely happen unless someone fails to properly safeguard a patient’s health during anesthesia administration and recovery.

Is Anesthesia Generally Considered Safe?

Anesthesia is generally considered safe as long as it is administered properly and after a thorough review of a particular patient’s circumstances. The Mayo Clinic advises that the risk of serious complications from anesthesia is less than 1% and the risk of death is less than 1 in 100,000. However, a patient’s personal health can increase the chances of complications from anesthesia.

Patients with serious health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, or lung conditions can be at higher risk for complications. Serious complications can include allergic reactions, nerve damage, and heart or lung problems. By examining the patient’s health history and current condition, the anesthesiologist can determine the appropriate anesthetics and dosage. If the doctor fails to assess a patient’s potential for anesthesia injury thoroughly and the patient is injured as a result, medical malpractice may have occurred.

Why Does Anesthesia Cause Us to Lose Consciousness?

We remain conscious so long as our brains can properly regulate the electrical activity taking place within them. When an outside influence (like an injury or a drug) disrupts the brain’s ability to self-regulate, unconsciousness can result.

Anesthesia causes a patient to lose consciousness because it disrupts the brain’s communication network. General anesthetics have been used for more than 150 years, yet researchers still don’t know exactly how they work. New research is making progress in understanding what happens in the brain when anesthesia is introduced, so patient safety can be improved and new drugs developed.

Propofol is the most widely used general anesthetic because it is fast-acting, easy to control, and is less likely to make a patient nauseous. Neuroscientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently established a new technique for analyzing brain activity and discovered that Propofol disrupted the activity of certain neurons, creating an imbalance in brain communication. The imbalance allows some neurons to become overly active, which creates a chaotic state in the brain and results in unconsciousness.

Most Anesthesia Injuries Are Caused by Human Error

Anesthesiologists are responsible for managing a patient’s pain during surgery and monitoring vital body functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels. Mistakenly administering too much or too little anesthesia can dramatically affect a patient’s comfort level, cause permanent impairment, and sometimes even result in death.

Over 80% of the serious incidents involving anesthesia are the result of human error, according to German-based Draeger, a world-leading manufacturer of anesthesia equipment. The human factors most often contributing to anesthesia errors include:

• Lack of experience
• Insufficient training
• Poor communication
• Failure to take adequate precautions
• Distraction

In a recent review of studies on medication administration errors during general anesthesia scrutinized close to 1,700 errors. The top two most reported errors were substitution error (wrong medication given) – 32%, and incorrect dosage – 28%.

How an Overdose of Anesthesia Can Affect the Body

An early safety system for monitoring the depth of anesthesia in patients classified the effects of anesthesia into four stages. Stages 1 and 2 are preparatory. Stage 3 is preferred for most surgeries. Stage 4 is anesthesia overdose.

According to Guedel’s Classification, when a patient receives too much anesthesia, it acts on the brain to further depress the sedated body toward complete shutdown. One of the first signs of an anesthesia overdose is shallow respiration. Blood pressure also drops, further suppressing the heart’s ability to pump blood. Without immediate medical intervention, the patient will die.

As respiratory and circulatory systems begin to shut down, the brain does not receive the oxygen it needs, which can result in cell death that causes cognitive impairment. The longer the situation goes uncorrected, the greater the potential for serious brain damage and death.

A patient who has experienced oxygen deprivation to the brain may exhibit neurological and physiological symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Seizures, problems with motor control, memory loss, and impaired cognitive function are all indicative of severe brain damage.

What an Anesthesia Underdose Can Mean for a Patient

An anesthesia underdose can result in anesthesia awareness. Anesthesia awareness means a patient is conscious or semi-conscious during surgery. Patients with anesthesia awareness may feel pressure or hear conversations. They may become anxious or frightened because they are not able to move or communicate what’s happening. In rare instances, they may feel pain.

Anesthesia awareness happens only about once or twice in every 1,000 cases and only when a patient is under general anesthesia. Anesthesia awareness is hard for healthcare providers to diagnose while it is happening, and it is usually only discovered when a patient reports the experience following surgery.

Patients who experience anesthesia awareness may have some physical injuries but are more likely to endure lasting psychological disturbances such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other emotional injuries.

Where to Get Legal Help for Medical Injuries in Philadelphia

Many of us put our well-being and sometimes our lives in the hands of medical professionals we trust will take proper care of us. We may not fully understand all of the implications of what we’re undergoing, and so we rely on the specialized knowledge and skills of a profession that has promised to act in our best interests and not cause us harm.

Unfortunately, patients don’t always receive proper care, and harm does occur. When the person or team in charge of anesthesia makes a mistake and injures a patient, the Philadelphia anesthesia malpractice attorneys at Lopez McHugh, LLP stand ready to hold the responsible parties accountable and obtain compensation for the injured patient. If you or a loved one has been injured by the medical profession, schedule a free consultation to discuss your claim.