The Helsinki Declaration on Patient Safety in Anaesthesiology: putting words into practice.

In June 2010, the European Board of Anaesthesiology (EBA) of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) and the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA) signed the Helsinki Declaration for Patient Safety in Anaesthesiology at the Euroanaesthesia meeting in Helsinki. The document had been jointly prepared by these two principal anaesthesiology organisations in Europe who pledged to improve the safety of patients being cared for by anaesthesiologists working in the medical fields of perioperative care, intensive care medicine, emergency medicine and pain medicine. The declaration stated their current heads of agreement on patient safety and listed a number of principle requirements as thought necessary for anaesthesiologists, anaesthesiology departments and institutions to introduce to improve patient safety.

Anesthesia and patient safety: have we reached our limits?

Purpose Of Review: To provide recent evidence of safety in anesthesia and appraise the role of established tools of safety improvement in anesthesia practice.

Recent Findings: The current incidence of minor events or complications during anesthesia is estimated at 18-22%, for severe complications 0.45-1.