Incidence and Profile of Postoperative Events in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit after Ear, Nose, and Throat Surgery in Douala

What is known. The post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) is designed for recovery from anesthesia, yet it is a vulnerable period where complications like respiratory events, pain, and postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) can emerge. ENT surgeries inherently increase airway risk. The problem this study addressed. Robust, prospective data on the specific spectrum and frequency of PACU complications following ENT surgery from sub-Saharan Africa are scarce, limiting context-aware quality improvement initiatives. What this study adds. This prospective study of 112 patients in Cameroon found a 19.6% incidence of PACU adverse events. Severe pain (10.7%) and PONV (8.0%) were most frequent. Crucially, 1 in 22 patients (4.5%) experienced a respiratory complication such as obstruction or desaturation. Cardiovascular events (3.6%) and significant bleeding (1.8%) were also noted. Implications. These results mandate that PACU teams managing ENT patients prioritize vigilant airway monitoring and have immediate intervention capabilities. Institutional guidelines should integrate multimodal analgesia and PONV prophylaxis as standard. The data provide a baseline for auditing care quality and inform resource allocation in similar surgical settings. This publication is available in full in Health Sciences and Disease.