Discharge from recovery room in ambulatory surgery centers

Ambulatory surgery has gained tremendous popularity within the last 2-3 decades. More and more surgeries are performed on outpatient basis at ambulatory surgery centers. The understanding of how the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) functions is important in the appropriate care and discharge of the patients. Multiple phases of recovery exist and patients can be triaged based on their emergence from anesthesia. PACU discharge scoring systems have been implemented to progress a patient through the stages of recovery until discharge. The scoring systems initially developed by Aldrete, later modified by Chung and White, are still being used today. Discharge from ambulatory surgery centers has unique concerns when compared with discharge from PACU to hospital wards. This chapter will discuss the special considerations when discharging patients from PACU in ambulatory surgery centers.