Journal of clinical anesthesia
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Review Case Reports
Frequency of anesthetic cardiac arrest and death in the operating room at a single general hospital over a 30-year period.
To determine the anesthetic cardiac arrest (CA) and death rates in the operating room (OR) and to determine whether anesthetic CA and death are preventable. ⋯ The results of 30 years' experience do not support the hypothesis that all anesthetic CAs and deaths are preventable. However, careful clinical management can reduce their frequency to a level lower than those reported in the referenced literature.