The EARLY complications and methods of treatment in the postoperative anesthesia care unit

Purpose: The purpose of our study is to determine the frequency of complication development, type of complication, and risk factors in patients who have undergone surgery and were admitted to the Postoperative Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) in our clinic. Materials and Methods: Postoperatively, patients admitted to the PACU were observed and complications were recorded. All patients who refused to participate in the study, patients under the age of 18, and patients who received local anesthesia were excluded from the study. From the anesthesia forms, the preoperative information of the patients, age, gender, an operation performed, department performing the operation, duration of the operation, type, and anesthesia method were recorded. The complications that developed during the period spent in the PACU were followed up. Results: The 1377 patients who were included in the study were evaluated in terms of early postoperative complications and was observed that the most common complications were hypothermia, pain, hypertension, and nausea-vomiting. in addition, It was also observed that 798 patients were hypothermic (body temperature below 36) with a rate of 57.9%. Moreover, it was determined that 24.2% of the hypothermic patients were Orthopedics, 14.8% were General Surgery, 14.8% were Gynecology and Obstetrics, 12.9% were Neurosurgery, and 10.5% were Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery patients. Conclusion: It was observed from the analysis of advanced complications of the patients included in the study that hypothermia was the most common complication. The pain, hypertension, and nausea-vomiting were found to be high like in the literature. Key Words: Postoperative Anesthesia Care Unit, Recovery Room, Early Postoperative Complications; Hypothermia, Pain, Nausea Vomiting