2010 Guidelines and international standards to the practice of anesthesia

Excerpt

The Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society (CAS) Guidelines to the Practice of Anesthesia (the Guidelines) initially appeared as CAS policy in 1975. However, it took a number of years before consensus evolved amongst CAS members to a point where they recognized that the Guidelines are intended “to represent the generally accepted standard of care and to serve as a stimulus for improving the quality of anesthesia practice”.1 Over a span of 35 years, updated versions of the Guidelines appeared as supplements. In January 2010, following detailed discussions and document reviews with the editors of the Journal and members of the CAS Committee on Standards, the Journal published the Guidelines to the Practice of Anesthesia Revised Edition 2010.2 Consistent with other medical societies publishing guidelines related to their specialties, the CAS-endorsed 2010 Guidelines are published in the Journal for three key reasons: 1) to provide archiving and indexing; 2) to facilitate publication of Guideline updates, including electronic supplementary material; and 3) to enhance user access via the online platform of the Journal. …