Incidence and Factors Associated With Post-anesthesia Care Unit Complications at St. Paul’s Hospital, Ethiopia. Observational Study

Abstract Background: Postoperative complications are frequent encounters in the patients admitted to post-anesthesia care units (PACU). The main aim of this study was to assess the incidence and associated factors of complications among surgical patients admitted to PACU.Methods: This is an observational study of 396 surgical patients admitted to PACU. This study was conducted from February 1 to March 30, 2021, in Ethiopia. Study participant's demographics, anesthesia, and surgery-related parameters, PACU complications, and length of stay in PACU were documented. Multivariate and bivariate logistic regression analyses, the odds ratio (OR), and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. P-value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.Results: The incidence of complications among surgical patients admitted to PACU was 54.8%. Of these, respiratory-related complications and postoperative nausea/vomiting were the most common types of PACU complications. Being a female (AOR=2.928;95%CI:(1.899-4.512)) was significantly associated with an increased risk of developing PACU complications. Duration of anesthesia >4 hours (AOR=5.406; 95% CI (2.418_12.088) revealed an increased risk of association with PACU complications. The occurrences of intraoperative complications (AOR=2.238; 95% CI (0.991_5.056) during surgery were also associated with PACU complications. Patients who develop PACU complications were strongly associated with length of PACU stay for > 4 hours (AOR=2.177; 95% CI (0 .741_ 6.401)).Conclusion: The identified risk factors for complications in surgical patients admitted to PACU are female sex, longer duration of anesthesia, and intraoperative complications occurrences. Patients who developed complications had a long time of stay in PACU.