title: A survey of orthopedic surgeons' attitudes and knowledge regarding regional anesthesia.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia, University of Toronto, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oldman
authors.forename: Colin J L
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: McCartney
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Regan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rawson
authors.forename: Anahi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perlas
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gadsden
authors.forename: Vincent W S
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D000777:Anesthetics