The significance of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification in obstetrics and gynaecology

Abstract 

The American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA PS) classification is a simple scoring system, developed over sixty years ago. It is often inappropriately used as a predictor of surgical risk. This is also true in obstetrics and gynaecological surgery. Furthermore, in obstetric patients there is considerable variation in the assignment of ASA PS scores by the anaesthetists themselves. Normal pregnancy induced changes in the mother and fetus do not affect the ASA PS score, as they are not pathological. A modifier G (gravid) after the ASA PS class has been suggested in recent literature.

Keywords: anesthesiology, female, gynaecology, health status, health status indicators, humans, obstetrics, pregnancy, societies