title: Anesthesia for urological surgery in a European region with 6.7 million inhabitants (Catalonia, Spain).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the characteristics of anesthetic and postoperative care applied in urologic surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective, cross-sectional survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  131 authorized public and private hospitals in Catalonia, Spain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from a representative sample of 23,136 patients and all questionnaires related to urologic surgery were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data included patient characteristics, anesthetic techniques, and type of procedure. Eighty-five hospitals performed urologic surgery and 75.4% of activity took place in public hospitals. The median age of patients was 61 years and 87.3% were men. Preoperative physical status was poorer than in the rest of the surgical population. Surgery was elective in 93.2% of the cases, and the most frequent procedure was transurethral resection of bladder tissue (25.6%). The median duration of anesthesia was 60 minutes, and 9.7% of patients required postoperative admission to an intensive care unit. Regional anesthesia, especially subarachnoid block, was the most frequently used anesthetic technique.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The older age and poor physical status of urology patients make high demands on anesthetic resources and must be considered in the organization of services and training programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Fundació Puigvert (IUNA), 08025 Barcelona, Spain. 29285sst@comb.es
authors.forename: Sergi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sabaté
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gomar
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huguet
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Castillo
authors.forename: Jaume
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Canet
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villalonga
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000758:Anesthesia / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000765:Anesthesia, Conduction / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017558:Elective Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D016304:Hospitals, Private / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013520:Urologic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult