A survey of orthopedic surgeons' attitudes and knowledge regarding regional anesthesia.
We conducted a survey to explore the surgical attitudes and preferences regarding regional anesthesia among Canadian orthopedic surgeons. Surveys were returned by 468 (61%) of 768 surgeons. Forty-eight percent of respondents directed their patients' choice of anesthetic. Forty percent of surgeons directed their patients to choose regional anesthesia. The principal reasons for favoring regional anesthesia were less postoperative pain (32%), decreased nausea and vomiting (12%), and safety (14%). Reasons for not favoring regional anesthesia were delays in the induction of anesthesia (43%) and an unpredictable success rate (12%). This survey suggests that orthopedic surgeons are supportive of regional anesthesia. Barriers to increased popularity include perceived delays and unreliability.


CONCLUSIONS
Orthopedic surgeons understand the benefits of and are supportive of the use of regional anesthesia in their practices. Barriers to increased popularity include perceived operating room delays and lack of reliability.
Oldman
Matthew
M
Department of Anaesthesia, University of Toronto, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
McCartney
Colin J L
CJ
Leung
Andrea
A
Rawson
Regan
R
Perlas
Anahi
A
Gadsden
Jeff
J
Chan
Vincent W S
VW
D000328:Adult; D000765:Anesthesia, Conduction; D000777:Anesthetics; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002170:Canada; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009985:Orthopedics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000777:Anesthetics