Anesthesia care in a medium-developed country: a nationwide survey of Mongolia.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the current status of anesthesia and its allied disciplines in Mongolia.


METHODS
Nationwide questionnaire survey.


METHODS
Two university hospitals.


METHODS
A total of 44 hospitals that include a department of surgery and that were registered at the Mongolian Ministry of Health were queried. The questionnaire included 44 questions in two sections. The first section consisted of 6 general questions about the hospital, and the second section included 40 questions on anesthesia and perioperative patient care. The Mann-Whitney U-test, Chi²-tests, and a bivariate correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis.


RESULTS
44 (100%) questionnaires were returned. Twenty-two (50%) hospitals were located in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. Nine hundred (median; interquartile range: 413-1,468) surgical interventions were performed annually in the study hospitals. Physician anesthesiologists delivered anesthesia in all hospitals. Techniques for general anesthesia included endotracheal intubation (95.5%), laryngeal mask ventilation (13.6%), mask ventilation (27.3%), dissociative ketamine anesthesia (84.1%), and combined general/regional anesthesia (63.6%). Regional anesthetic techniques included spinal (97.7%), epidural (43.2%), axillary plexus (40.9%), peripheral nerve (13.6%), and local anesthesia (15.9%). The most frequently used hypnotics were ketamine (86.4%) and thiopental sodium (70.5%). Halothane was available in all hospitals. Oxygen was available during anesthesia in 95.5% of hospitals. The most widely available intraoperative monitoring equipment were a stethoscope (84.1%), oximeter (81.8%), and sphygmomanometer (84.1%). A recovery room was available in 22 (50%) hospitals.


CONCLUSIONS
Anesthesia is an underdeveloped and under-resourced medical specialty in Mongolia.
Jochberger
Stefan
S
Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Stefan.Jochberger@i-med.ac.at
Bataar
Otgon
O
Mendsaikhan
Naranpurev
N
Grander
Wilhelm
W
Tsenddorj
Ganbat
G
Lundeg
Ganbold
G
Dünser
Martin W
MW
D000758:Anesthesia / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000777:Anesthetics / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008986:Mongolia; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative / Q000379:methods; D019990:Perioperative Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000379:methods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000777:Anesthetics