CANPC key terms

A six-level ranking (I through VI plus E for emergency) that describes a patient's overall health before anesthesia, used to predict risk and guide planning.

The process of combining patient factors, surgery type, and test results to estimate the likelihood of complications, so that resources and monitoring can be matched to risk.

Evaluation of a patient's likelihood of heart-related complications during and after surgery, using functional capacity, clinical risk factors, and selected testing such as echocardiography or stress testing.

Estimation of a patient's exercise tolerance, often expressed in metabolic equivalents, to judge whether the heart can meet the demands of surgery and anesthesia.

The process of explaining a procedure's purpose, benefits, risks, and alternatives, then confirming the patient voluntarily agrees, documented before sedation or anesthesia begins.

A patient's ability to understand relevant information, appreciate consequences, reason about options, and communicate a choice regarding their own care.

A written statement made in advance that records a patient's wishes about future medical treatment, including who may speak for them if they cannot.

The required period without food or drink before anesthesia, intended to reduce the volume and acidity of stomach contents and lower the risk of aspiration.

A clinical situation in which a trained provider has trouble with mask ventilation, laryngoscopy, supraglottic device placement, or tracheal intubation, or the patient is at risk for these problems.

A bedside grading of the visible oral structures when the patient opens the mouth wide and protrudes the tongue, used as one clue to possible difficult laryngoscopy.

The distance from the thyroid notch to the chin with the head extended; a short distance suggests a potentially difficult laryngoscopy view.

A technique that minimizes the interval between loss of protective reflexes and placement of a cuffed airway, typically using a fast-acting induction agent and neuromuscular blocker with cricoid pressure.

Entry of stomach contents or other material into the lower airway, which can cause chemical pneumonitis, obstruction, and hypoxemia during or after anesthesia.

A structured sequence of rescue steps followed when tracheal intubation cannot be achieved, prioritizing oxygenation and limiting repeated attempts to reduce airway trauma.

An airway that sits above the larynx and seals the pharynx to deliver oxygen and anesthetic gas without entering the trachea, often used as a rescue or primary airway.

Continuous measurement and display of exhaled carbon dioxide over time, used to confirm tracheal tube placement and to detect apnea, obstruction, or low blood flow.

A noninvasive method that estimates arterial oxygen saturation by measuring light absorption through tissue, used to detect hypoxemia and guide oxygen therapy.

A catheter placed in an artery that provides continuous blood pressure measurement and permits repeated blood sampling for gases, electrolytes, and other laboratory values.

The average pressure in the arteries over a cardiac cycle, reflecting the balance between cardiac output and vascular resistance and used to judge organ perfusion.

A state in which blood pressure, heart rate, or perfusion is inadequate or erratic enough to threaten organ function and require prompt intervention.

Blood pressure that falls below a level needed for adequate organ perfusion during surgery, associated with kidney injury, heart injury, and longer recovery.

A rare inherited reaction to certain anesthetic vapors and muscle relaxants causing rapid temperature rise, muscle rigidity, and metabolic acidosis, treated with dantrolene.

A volatile liquid anesthetic that is inhaled and vaporized to produce unconsciousness and immobility during general anesthesia.

The alveolar concentration of an inhaled anesthetic at which half of patients do not move in response to a standard surgical stimulus, used to compare potency.

A processed electroencephalogram measure that estimates depth of sedation or anesthesia, helping to avoid awareness during surgery and excessive sedation.

Conscious recollection of events during a planned general anesthetic, a serious complication that can cause lasting psychological distress.

Drug-induced paralysis of skeletal muscle used to facilitate intubation and surgery, which requires careful monitoring and reversal before the patient can breathe independently.

A nerve stimulation technique that delivers four brief impulses to assess the degree of neuromuscular blockade and to confirm that muscle strength has recovered.

Persistent muscle weakness after surgery because neuromuscular blocking drugs have not been fully reversed, raising the risk of airway obstruction and respiratory failure.

A pain plan that combines several drugs and techniques with different mechanisms so that each can be used at a lower dose with fewer side effects.

The practice of using nonopioid drugs and regional techniques to reduce the amount of opioid needed, lowering risks such as sedation, nausea, and respiratory depression.

A pump system that lets a patient self-administer small doses of analgesic within set limits, improving pain control while building in safeguards against overdose.

A reduced response to opioid drugs after repeated exposure, so that higher doses are needed for the same effect and abrupt reduction can cause withdrawal.

Nausea, retching, or vomiting occurring after surgery and anesthesia, which can delay discharge, cause dehydration, and rarely lead to wound or airway complications.

A simple count of four patient and anesthesia factors that estimates the likelihood of postoperative nausea and vomiting and guides how many preventive drugs to give.

A breathing problem developing after surgery, such as atelectasis, pneumonia, or respiratory failure, often linked to aspiration, immobility, or inadequate pain control.

A monitored recovery area where patients are observed after anesthesia for airway patency, breathing, circulation, pain, temperature, and readiness for discharge.

A standardized set of checks completed before induction, before incision, and before the patient leaves the room to prevent wrong-site surgery and other avoidable harm.

A brief pause just before a procedure in which the team confirms patient identity, site, procedure, and key concerns aloud together.

A structured review after an adverse event that traces contributing system factors rather than blaming individuals, aiming to prevent recurrence.