Department of Anaesthesiology

The Department of Anesthesiology & ICU is undoubtedly one of the most crucial pillars of the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), Dhaka. Since its inception, it has played a pivotal role in ensuring the success of surgical interventions and the management of critically ill patients. Key highlights of the department’s contributions include:

• Comprehensive preoperative assessment and patient optimization.
• Implementation of pre-emptive analgesia strategies.
• Delivery of safe anesthesia and effective analgesia during surgery.
• Provision of post-operative anesthesia care and pain management.
• Comprehensive perioperative critical care and ICU support.
• Utilization of ultrasound-guided regional and peripheral nerve blocks.
• Plans to establish a fully operational pain clinic in the near future, with interventional pain medicine currently practiced on a limited scale.

The Department of Anaesthesiology & ICU was founded in 1972 by Miss Harry Macnab with a modest team of supporting staff. On April 14, 1979, Professor Dr. Noor Jahan Khanam became the first head of the department. Currently, the department is efficiently led by a team of 46 skilled and dedicated physicians, including 39 anaesthesiologists and 7 intensivists, across various roles. The department operates 29 state-of-the-art operation theatres (OTs) that cater to various subspecialties, including paediatric orthopaedics surgery, spine surgery, musculoskeletal oncology, Ilizarov procedures, tendon repair via endoscopy, hand surgery, and plastic & reconstructive surgery. These OTs are organized into five distinct OT complexes.

In 2024, the department managed a total of 49,755 cases across all operating theatres (COT-1, COT-3, COT-4, DOT, and EOT). Among these:

• 27,881 cases were conducted under anesthesia, which included General Anaesthesia (GA, 1,206 cases), Spinal Anaesthesia (SAB, 18,820 cases), epidural anesthesia (EA, 133 cases), Brachial Block (BB, 6,016 cases), Total Intravenous Anaesthesia (TIVA, 1,706 cases), and other specialized techniques.

21,874 cases were performed using local anesthesia.

Compared to 2023, there was an increase of 2,546 cases, reflecting a 5.4% growth in the total caseload. This increase indicates both enhanced capacity and a higher demand for surgical and procedural services.

The department also manages a 20-bed ICU, which admitted a total of 401 patients in 2024. The outcomes for these patients were as follows:

• 269 patients (67.1%) were successfully transferred to the respective wards.
• 29 patients (7.2%) were referred to other facilities for further management.
• 11 patients (2.7%) were discharged against medical advice (DORB – Discharged on Request Basis).
• 92 patients (22.9%) unfortunately succumbed, resulting in an ICU mortality rate of approximately 23%.

The department continues to play a vital role in providing comprehensive anesthetic and critical care services, supporting a wide range of surgical subspecialties, and maintaining high operational efficiency.

Here are the members of the Department of Anaesthesiology & ICU: