Postoperatively, a patient who received a volatile liquid inhalation anesthetic during surgery should be monitored for which of the following?

• A. Tachypnea
• B. Myoclonia
• C. Hypertension
• D. Incisional pain

Answer: (D)

Postoperative care after volatile inhaled anesthesia focuses on assessing and controlling pain from the surgical incision. Once anesthesia wears off, the patient’s most immediate and actionable need is analgesia to relieve incision pain, which directly influences breathing effort, comfort, and recovery. Adequate pain control helps the patient take deeper breaths, prevents shallow breathing and atelectasis, and supports stable hemodynamics as the body emerges from anesthesia.

Other signs like tachypnea, hypertension, or myoclonia can occur in the perioperative period but are not the primary, routine measure for the immediate postoperative course. Myoclonia can occur with some volatile agents during emergence, and hypertension can relate to pain or other stressors, but the central nursing focus after these anesthetics is to evaluate and treat incision-related pain to facilitate recovery.