Perianesthetic and Anesthesia-Related Mortality in a Southeastern United States Population: A Longitudinal Review of a Prospectively Collected Quality Assurance Data Base.

Background: Perianesthetic mortality (death occurring within 48 hours of an anesthetic) continues to vary widely depending on the study population examined. The authors study in a private practice physician group that covers multiple anesthetizing locations in the Southeastern United States. This group has in place a robust quality assurance (QA) database to follow all patients undergoing anesthesia.