Three anesthesiology organizations reaffirmed the safety of spinal anesthesia in response to reported medication errors that severely harmed four patients in Nashville.
The Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology, Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and American Society of Anesthesiologists said spinal anesthesia remains a safe and essential technique when administered with appropriate medication, according to an Aug. 21 statement.
The organizations said the circumstances surrounding the Nashville events reportedly remain under investigation. They distinguished medication errors involving neuraxial administration from inherent complications of spinal or epidural anesthesia.
The groups pointed to safeguards for preventing wrong-drug and wrong-route medication errors, including standardized and clearly labeled medications, separation of high-alert medications from those intended for neuraxial use and technology-assisted verification where available.
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