General anesthesia and its relationship to complications in the elderly patients from the perspective of the anesthetic staff (Sana'a Public hospitals)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65693/irss.2026.v7i2.61Keywords:
General Anesthesia; Geriatric Patients; Anesthetic Staff; Hemodynamic Complications; Sana'a Public Hospitals; Patient Safety.Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the correlational relationship between general anesthesia and its subsequent postoperative complications among elderly patients (aged 65 years and older) from the unique perspective of the anesthesia team operating within public hospitals in the Sana'a Governorate, Yemen. Utilizing a descriptive analytical methodology, empirical data was gathered via a structured, closed-ended questionnaire distributed to a sample of 80 anesthesia professionals—including consultants, residents, and technicians—across four major public healthcare facilities: Al-Thawra General Hospital, the Republican Hospital, the Military Hospital, and Al-Kuwait Hospital. The collected data was statistically processed through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) using frequencies, percentages, and arithmetic means. The findings revealed a substantial consensus (93%) among the anesthesia staff that geriatric patients exhibit a significantly higher vulnerability to anesthesia-related adverse outcomes compared to other age cohorts, a vulnerability primarily driven by age-associated physiological deterioration and pre-existing comorbidities. Hemodynamic instability—manifesting as intraoperative hypotension (70%) and bradycardia (91%)—along with the critical loss of airway protective reflexes (70%), were identified as the most prominent clinical challenges encountered during and after surgical procedures. Consequently, the study recommends the strict implementation of dedicated geriatric anesthesia protocols focused on highly precise, low-dose drug titration, exceptionally slow administrative injection speeds, and intensified close monitoring during the post-anesthesia recovery phase to preserve patient safety.
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(https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancerterms/def/complication
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