Large and medium-sized hospitals in the country are allocating between Rs 70 lakh to Rs 80 lakh for aesthetic technologies. The main reason is that these advanced drugs and latest technologies have resulted in bringing down the fatality rates by almost ten times in patients.

In the past, there were scores of instances of patients who succumbed because of anaesthesia side effects. With the introduction of newer aesthetic drugs like Isoflurane, desflurane and sevoflurane makes anaesthesia extremely safe for patients. Current mortality related to aesthetic conditions is less than 0.05 per cent reported at hospitals in the country.

The problem encountered by patients after administration of anaesthesia is a depression of the respiratory system and fall in blood pressure leading to death. The new drugs are known for its ability to gain consciousness faster and hardly have any side effects. The technologies can monitor the condition of the patients at every stage to prevent an emergency, Dr G Parameswara, senior consultant and Professor of Anaesthesia, Manipal Hospital and governing body member of Indian Society for Anaesthesia, told Pharmabiz.

Out of the Rs 80 lakh investments made for anaesthesia alone, 98 per cent is the cost of the technology and around two per cent is the cost of the aesthetic drugs. It is therefore critical for hospitals across the country to go in for advanced systems and drugs, he added.

The latest aesthetic drugs include inhalational agents like Isoflurane Desflurane and Sevoflurane. The muscle relaxants are Cisatracurium and Mivacurium Opioid Analgesics include Remifentanil and Alfenatanil. Local Aesthetic agents like Ropivacaine and other drugs, Clonidine and Dexmeditomidine have helped aesthetic experts to handle patient safety considerably.

Among the advanced monitoring technologies in anaesthesia are Bispectral Index monitoring, Entropy Monitoring, Cerebral blood flow monitor - Transcranial Doppler, Online continuous Cardiac output monitors, Continuous blood gas analyzer, Ultrasound guided nerve blocks, nerve locators, Lasers, Transoesophageal Doppler (TEE),TENS for pain relief, Tramboelastogram, Rapid Infusor system, Low Flow Anaesthesia System, Pulse Output Cardiac Monitor, I-Gel, Paediatric Spinal and epidural techniques and difficult intubation equipment sets.

Over 90 per cent of the drugs and techniques are being used in tertiary care centres and corporate hospitals. Less than 5 percent of smaller hospitals are equipped with the latest drugs and technologies to monitor patients who are under anaesthesia. In the Primary Health Centres (PHCs), these technologies and drugs are not available, informed Dr Parameswara.

The field of anaesthesia has many subspecialities which include Neuroanaesthesia, Cardiac anaesthesia, Chronic Pain specialty, Paediatric anaesthesia, Obstetric Anaesthesia - Labour analgesia, Day care anaesthesia, Intensive Care, Trauma Life support care and cardiac life support. Each specialty has its own challenges.

To develop any subspecialty in the field of anaesthesia, there is need for adequate staff members trained in the field and even the facilities to use the technologies are a huge challenge for healthcare providers. This requires a lot of investment on new technologies, drugs and other supportive fields, explained Dr Parameswara.

Currently, there are 14,000 anaesthesia specialists who are members of the Indian Society of Anaesthetics. There is a growing interest among doctors to specialize in the field going by the increasing opportunities the segment offers. Indian aesthetic specialists are on par with the West. While US is known to have made considerable advances in the field, UK particularly England is also known for the pioneering research in anaesthesia, he said.