Anaesthesia
Anaesthesia is a state of controlled reversible loss of consciousness usually accompanied by analgesia, muscle relaxation, amnesia and areflexia. It is usually induced for the purpose of facilitating surgery and other therapeutic or diagnostic procedures.
Anaesthesia may be achieved with either:
- Regional anaesthesia alone e.g. spinal/epidural anaesthesia, arm block
- General anaesthesia
- A combination of regional and general anaesthesia
- Regional anaesthesia with sedation
- Local anaesthesia through topical application/spray or infiltration of local anaesthetics
Note
- Anesthetic medicines and sedatives MUST be provided by medical practitioners who are properly trained and have appropriate experience with their use
- Medicines and equipment for resuscitation should be immediately available whenever general anaesthesia, regional anaesthesia or sedation is administered.