Non-Operating Room Anesthesia: An Overview

Today, an increasing number of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are performed in specialized units outside the classical operating room, such as endoscopy units, interventional radiology, neurology and cardiology laboratories. The main reasons of this global trend are recent advances in medical technology, increased knowledge of disease pathogenesis, and some financial factors. Additionally, number and complexity of these procedures are rapidly raising throughout the world. In parallel, the importance of anesthesia management of such patients, also known as non-operating room anesthesia, has become better understood in recent years. In this review, we aimed to discuss the potential difficulties of non-operating room anesthesia, preprosedural patient preparation, intraoperative anesthesia applications, and postprosedural patient care in the light of the current literature.