Biomaterial Database

Economic aspects of general anaesthesia. 1993

S P Rhodes, and S Ridley

Department of Anaesthesia, Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, England.

Proper economic evaluation involves comparative analysis of alternative courses of action in terms of both costs and outcome. This is difficult for general anaesthesia as there are few alternatives and measurement of outcome is difficult to define. All that is generally available is a cost description of different anaesthetic techniques. This article outlines the choice of drugs, breathing systems and ventilatory pattern available to the anaesthetist, and compares regional with general anaesthesia. For each technique the cost and advantages/disadvantages are outlined. There is a discussion of some wider issues involved together with their implications: the abandonment of cyclopropane and nitrous oxide; equipment costs and recommendations by the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland; staffing levels; legal aspects and the increase in day surgery. The limitation of cost-effectiveness analysis of general anaesthesia is outlined.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D012122	Ventilators, Mechanical	Mechanical devices used to produce or assist pulmonary ventilation.	Mechanical Ventilator,Mechanical Ventilators,Respirators,Ventilators, Pulmonary,Pulmonary Ventilator,Pulmonary Ventilators,Ventilator, Pulmonary,Ventilators,Respirator,Ventilator,Ventilator, Mechanical
D003362	Cost-Benefit Analysis	A method of comparing the cost of a program with its expected benefits in dollars (or other currency). The benefit-to-cost ratio is a measure of total return expected per unit of money spent. This analysis generally excludes consideration of factors that are not measured ultimately in economic terms. In contrast a cost effectiveness in general compares cost with qualitative outcomes.	Cost and Benefit,Cost-Benefit Data,Benefits and Costs,Cost Benefit,Cost Benefit Analysis,Cost-Utility Analysis,Costs and Benefits,Economic Evaluation,Marginal Analysis,Analyses, Cost Benefit,Analysis, Cost Benefit,Analysis, Cost-Benefit,Analysis, Cost-Utility,Analysis, Marginal,Benefit and Cost,Cost Benefit Analyses,Cost Benefit Data,Cost Utility Analysis,Cost-Benefit Analyses,Cost-Utility Analyses,Data, Cost-Benefit,Economic Evaluations,Evaluation, Economic,Marginal Analyses
D004869	Equipment Safety	Freedom of equipment from actual or potential hazards.	Device Safety,Hazards, Equipment,Medical Device Safety,Safety, Equipment,Device Safety, Medical,Safety, Medical Device,Equipment Hazard,Equipment Hazards,Hazard, Equipment,Safety, Device
D005544	Forecasting	The prediction or projection of the nature of future problems or existing conditions based upon the extrapolation or interpretation of existing scientific data or by the application of scientific methodology.	Futurology,Projections and Predictions,Future,Predictions and Projections
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000078329	Workforce	The number of people working or available for work or service.	Human Resources,Labor Supply,Manpower,Staffing,Womanpower,Human Resource,Labor Supplies,Manpowers,Staffings,Supply, Labor,Womanpowers,Workforces
D000556	Ambulatory Surgical Procedures	Surgery performed on an outpatient basis. It may be hospital-based or performed in an office or surgicenter.	Ambulatory Surgery,Day Surgery,Office Surgery,Outpatient Surgery,Surgery, Office,Surgery, Outpatient,Ambulatory Surgical Procedure,Procedure, Ambulatory Surgical,Procedures, Ambulatory Surgical,Surgery, Ambulatory,Surgery, Day,Surgical Procedure, Ambulatory,Surgical Procedures, Ambulatory,Ambulatory Surgeries,Day Surgeries,Office Surgeries,Outpatient Surgeries,Surgeries, Ambulatory,Surgeries, Day,Surgeries, Office,Surgeries, Outpatient
D000768	Anesthesia, General	Procedure in which patients are induced into an unconscious state through use of various medications so that they do not feel pain during surgery.	Anesthesias, General,General Anesthesia,General Anesthesias
D000772	Anesthesia, Local	A blocking of nerve conduction to a specific area by an injection of an anesthetic agent.	Anesthesia, Infiltration,Local Anesthesia,Neural Therapy of Huneke,Huneke Neural Therapy,Infiltration Anesthesia
D000776	Anesthesiology	A specialty concerned with the study of anesthetics and anesthesia.