The Impact of Intraoperative Monitoring on Patient Safety

A common goal among physicians and nurses who practice anesthesia is to make surgery and anesthesia as safe as possible. In the modern practice of anesthesiology, many different monitors are used to acquire essential information to enhance patient care. We routinely rely on sophisticated monitors to ensure adequate function of anesthesia machines and assess physiologic function and depth of anesthesia. The question as to whether any of our intraoperative monitors have impact on patient safety has gained considerable attention in recent years. Physicians monitor patients to recognize and evaluate potential physiologic problems and identify prognostic trends. Although it is rational to believe that improved monitoring should reduce risk and increase patient safety, we must look critically at the evidence.