Severely obese patients were four times as likely to develop airway complications. Obese patients were also more likely than non-obese patients to die if they had airway complications in the intensive care unit.
The study, “4th National Audit Project of The Royal College of Anaesthetists and The Difficult Airway Society: Major complications of airway management in the United Kingdom,” examined patients who had major airway complications due to anesthesia from 2008-2009.
Read the Royal College of Anaesthetists news release (pdf).
Read the report on airway complications during anesthesia (pdf).
Read more coverage on anesthesia:
– Study: Tetanic Simulation of P6 Acupuncture Point Reduces Post-Operative Nausea and Vomiting
– Anesthesia & Analgesia Series Discusses High-Risk Surgery
– Hemoglobin Monitor May Help Providers Monitor Blood Hemoglobin Levels Noninvasively
