Responding to the reported medication errors that harmed patients who were undergoing joint replacement surgeries at a Nashville hospital, the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP), the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Friday “reaffirmed that spinal anesthesia remains a safe and essential anesthetic technique when administered with appropriate medication.”
The organizations added, “These devastating events must be seriously addressed, without calling into question the safety of this well-established form of care. SOAP, APSF and ASA extend their deepest concern and compassion to the patients and families who suffered harm in these events and encourage swift and thorough evaluation of the events and processes that contributed to these tragedies… [S]erious events such as these reinforce the importance of rigorous investigation, transparency, and learning. A medication error involving neuraxial administration is distinct from an inherent complication of spinal or epidural anesthesia.”
SOAP, APSF, and ASA jointly stressed the importance of systems designed to prevent the risks of wrong-drug and wrong-route medication errors, including “standardized and clearly labeled medications, separation of high-alert medications from those intended for neuraxial use, technology-assisted verification where available, and safeguards throughout pharmacy preparation, dispensing, and administration.”
The three organizations also linked to numerous related resources:
