New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 8 - HEALTH › Chapter 43G - HOSPITAL LICENSING STANDARDS › Subchapter 6 - ANESTHESIA › Section 8:43G-6.8 - Anesthesia supplies and equipment; patient monitoring

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) An in-circuit oxygen
				analyzer shall monitor the oxygen concentration within the breathing circuit,
				displaying the percent oxygen of the total mixture, for all patients receiving
				general anesthesia.
(b) A respirometer
				(volumeter) measuring exhaled tidal volume shall be used whenever the breathing
				circuit of a patient under general anesthesia allows.
(c) The body temperature of each patient under
				general or major regional anesthesia lasting 45 minutes or more shall be
				continuously monitored and recorded at least every 15 minutes.
(d) Pulse oximetry shall be performed continuously
				during administration of general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, and conscious
				sedation at all anesthetizing locations, unless such monitoring is not clinically
				feasible for the patient. Any alternative method of measuring oxygen saturation may
				be substituted for pulse oximetry if the method has been demonstrated to have at
				least equivalent clinical effectiveness.
(e) End-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring shall be
				performed continuously during administration of all general anesthesia, unless such
				monitoring is not clinically feasible for the patient.
(f) An electrocardiogram monitor shall be used
				continuously on all patients receiving general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, or
				conscious sedation at any anesthetizing location.
(g) Blood pressure, pulse rate, and respirations
				shall be determined and charted at least every five minutes for all patients
				receiving anesthesia at any anesthetizing location, except for local anesthesia and
				minor regional blocks.
(h) The capacity
				for invasive monitoring of arterial pressure shall exist within the operating
				suite.
(i) A difficult airway container
				or cart shall be immediately available in each anesthesia department for handling
				emergencies. The following items are required for inclusion in the difficult airway
				container or cart: resuscitation equipment, emergency drugs, a laryngeal mask
				airway, or other items of similar technical capability.
(j) A precordial stethoscope or esophageal
				stethoscope shall be used when indicated on each patient receiving anesthesia. If
				necessary, the stethoscope may be positioned on the posterior chest wall or tracheal
				area.
(k) A peripheral nerve stimulator
				shall be available in any anesthetizing location in which patients receive general
				or regional anesthesia to monitor the patient's extent of muscle paralysis from
				muscle relaxants. Another peripheral nerve stimulator shall be available within the
				postanesthesia care unit.
(
l
) Monitoring of regional labor
				analgesia shall include: documented temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure
				and oxygen saturation until the patient is deemed stable based on written criteria
				established by the department of anesthesia. The patient shall be monitored
				subsequently in accordance with hospital protocol.
(m) Supplemental oxygen and a delivery system
				appropriate to the patient's condition shall be immediately available for patient
				transport from the operating room to the postanesthesia care unit.