ASA Opens Comment Period on Drug Concentration Recommendations

ASA invites members and the public to submit comments on proposed drug concentrations for ten anesthesia drugs that are commonly used in adult and pediatric procedures. The comment period opened on May 3 and will close on May 31, 2019.

The draft recommendations were created by a workgroup of physician anesthesiologists led by the American Society of Anesthesiologists Committee on Quality Management and Departmental Administration. The dosages were identified using available manufacturer dosages, completing a literature and ASA closed claims review, obtaining input from members in both community and academic setting and acquiring data from both local and national drug infusion libraries. 

At local facilities, standardization often includes a limited set of concentrations for medications that have been labeled as high-alert or are known to have produced adverse events. Drug Concentration standardization represents a core set of actions that protect patients and provide for safe clinical care by focusing on developing the fewest number of drug concentrations.

All comments will be kept confidential and evaluated by a workgroup of physician anesthesiologists led by the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Committee on Quality Management & Departmental Administration.

For questions, please contact that ASA Department of Quality and Regulatory Affairs at [email protected]