Some disabled patients show insufficient cooperation during dental treatment, and general anesthesia in an outpatient setting can be successfully administered. To minimize post-anesthetic complications is an essential issue, and strict discharge protocols are required for the safety of the patients. Post-anesthetic follow-ups using telephone calls can be applied to improve the quality of the outpatient care system. The authors evaluated the post-operative condition of patients after dental treatment under general anesthesia.

Total 143 patients and their caregivers included in this study. The patients received general anesthesia for dental treatment in Seoul National University Dental Hospital, Clinic for Persons with Disabilities from July, 2011 to April, 2012. Telephone calls were given to the patients or their caregivers to collect information about the patients' systemic condition and anesthesia-related complications.

Among 131 patients with responses of telephone calls, 87 patients (66.4%) reported no discomfort, while 44 patients (33.6%) presented post-anesthetic complications. A total of 20 patients reported mild fever, 10 patients had vomiting, and 7 patients had sore throat. Other complications included nausea, fatigue, nasal bleeding, skin sore, and body rash. Among the patients with the history of epilepsy, 63.6% showed post-anesthetic discomfort or complication (P = 0.027, χ² test).

One third of dental patients who received general anesthesia due to insufficientcooperation complained discomfort after discharged from outpatient anesthetic care.