This comprehensive, problem-based textbook discusses the full range of complications in anesthesiology. Major sections cover intraoperative and postoperative complications affecting each organ system—respiratory, cardiovascular, neurologic, ophthalmologic, renal, hematologic and hemostatic, gastrointestinal, endocrine, obstetric, immunologic and infectious, and disorders of temperature regulation. Coverage includes problems that are rarely mentioned in older textbooks, such as ischemic optic neuropathy and postoperative cognitive dysfunction.

Chapters address complications associated with specific equipment and techniques, with adverse drug interactions, and with herbal remedies and over-the-counter medications. Also included are chapters on medicolegal issues and risks to the anesthesiologist.

GENERAL & MEDICOLEGAL CONSIDERATIONS: Anesthesia, Perioperative Mortality & Predictors of Adverse Outcomes / Evaluation of Anesthetic Risk / Quality Assurance & Risk Management / Medicine & Law: When Two Worlds Collide
PERIOPERATIVE CLINICAL
Respiratory: Respiratory Complications Overview / The Difficult Airway / Safety & Hazards Associated with Tracheal Intubation & Use of Supralaryngeal Airways / Hypoxemia & Hypercapnia / Bronchospasm / Aspiration Pneumonitis (Includes ARDS) / Pneumothorax & Barotrauma / Pulmonary Edema (Cardiogenic, Noncardiogenic, Neurogenic & Postobstructive) / Pulmonary Embolism (Clots, Gas, Debris, Fat)
Cardiovascular: Epidemiology & Predictors / Myocardial Ischemia & Infarction (Including Stents) / Congestive Heart Failure / Acute Pulmonary Hypertension & Right Heart Failure / Cardiac Dysrhythmias / Hypotension & Shock States (Including Deliberate Hypotension) / Hypertension / Cardiac Arrest
Neurologic: Increased Intracranial Pressure / Seizures / Perioperative Stroke / Coma & Delayed Emergence / Intraoperative Awareness & Recall / Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction / Spinal Cord Injury / Ophthalmologic
Renal Dysfunction & Disorders of Fluid & Electrolytes: Oliguria / Acute Perioperative Kidney Injury / Sodium, Potassium & Magnesium / TURP Syndrome
Hematologic & Hemostatic: Acute Anemia / Transfusion Reactions / Bleeding Complications, Including Thrombocytopenia, DIC, Anticoagulation (the patient receiving drugs that impair coagulation: heparin, warfarin, antiplatelets, gII-IIIb inhibitors, thrombin inhibitors, fibrinolytic agents) / Sickle Cell Abnormalities, Hemolysis & Acute Porphyria / The Hypercoagulable Patient
Gastrointestinal: Postoperative Nausea & Vomiting / Abdominal Compartment Syndrome / Acute Liver Dysfunction
Endocrine: Acute Hyperglycemia & Hypoglycemia (Including Diabetes Mellitus) / Acute Adrenal Dysfunction (Hypoadrenalism & Pheochromocytoma-Related Complications) / Morbid Obesity
Disorders of Temperature Regulation: Unintentional Perioperative Hypothermia / Hyperthermia
Obstetric: Labor & Delivery / Cesarean Section / Preeclampsia, Eclampsia & HELLP Syndrome
Immunological & Infectious: Acute Anaphylaxis & Anaphylactoid Reactions / Viral Infections (Including: To & From the Anesthesiologist)
EQUIPMENT: Invasive Monitoring (Arterial, Central Venous, Pulmonary Artery Catheters, TEE) / Cardiopulmonary Bypass / Fires & Explosions (Including Airway Fires) / Shock & Electrocution / Anesthesia Machine Malfunction
ANESTHETIC TECHNIQUES: Positioning / Complications of the Sitting (Beach Chair) Position for Nonneurosurgical Operations / General Anesthetic Agents (Including Etomidate, Pentothal) / Adverse Reactions to Local Anesthetics / Neuraxial Anesthesia (Spinal, Epidural) / Injuries Associated with Nerve & Plexus Blocks / Monitored Anesthesia Care
PHARMACOLOGIC: Adverse Drug Interactions (Including Muscle Relaxants) / Herbal Remedies & Over-the-Counter Drugs
RISKS TO THE ANESTHESIOLOGIST: Bioterrorism / Sleep & Fatigue / Chemical Agents & Radiation Exposure / Substance Abuse & Addiction