The researchers sent a survey regarding surgical catastrophes — events leading to unanticipated death or injury of a patient — to a nationwide sample of anesthesiologists. Of 659 responders, 84 percent had been involved in a catastrophe, with an average of 4.4 events over an entire career.
Two-thirds of the anesthesiologists felt their ability to care for patients was compromised in the hours after the event, and nearly 90 percent said it took some time to recover emotionally from the event. Nearly 20 percent said they had never fully recovered. Surgical catastrophes can have significant and lasting effects on anesthesiologists and other professionals, according to the report.
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