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Patient Safety
Abstract Submission
Nancy Sweet-Fitzgibbon, MSN, APRN-CRNA
Associate Faculty, Staff Nurse Anesthetist
OU Medicine
Edmond, OK
Anne-Marie Somerville, MSN, CRNA
Clinical Instructor/CRNA
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
Lexington, North Carolina
Adult patients awakening from general anesthesia may experience emergence delirium (EDL). The elderly, children, patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, or anxiety, as well as post-cardiac bypass, represent populations at higher risk for EDL. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is thought to be a strong independent predictor of emergence delirium. Best practices to decrease EDL occurrence currently exist within pediatric anesthesia literature. A gap in evidence exists for adults with PTSD. Emergence delirium potentially places both the patient and providers in danger. An increased risk of injury to the patients and staff exists for confused, disoriented or combative patients. Routine postoperative care including analgesia becomes secondary to preventing injury to and from the patient. For patients with PTSD, EDL-related psychic trauma added to the physical dangers increases the potential for long-term injury. Providing anesthetic care using the best practices to decrease delirium will protect providers and enable more patients with PTSD to experience anesthesia without additional trauma.