Anaesthesia equipment malfunction.

Abstract

Anaesthetic equipment was studied to determine whether the accuracy was improved and failure rate decreased by routine maintenance and calibration by a biomedical technician. Each piece was evaluated, and then repaired and rechecked at intervals by the same technician. Equipment failures were divided into three types: first, equipment that was completely nonfunctional; second, equipment that was functional but inaccurate; and third, equipment that was functional and accurate but needed minor repairs. The percentage of equipment failures in each group was compared on initial evaluation and after 6 months. Of the 311 pieces of equipment, 40% needed repair at the time of the initial survey; 80% was nonfunctional, and 18% was functional but inaccurate. After six months on a maintenance schedule, only 15% of the equipment needed repair, 3% was nonfunctional, and 6% was functional but inaccurate. The difference between the total percentage of equipment failure initially and after six months was statistically significant. After a regular maintenance, calibration, and checkout schedule by a biomedical technician was instituted, there was a significant improvement in the accuracy of the equipment and a reduction in the percentage of equipment needing repair.