title: Which outcomes related to regional anesthesia are most important for orthopedic surgery patients?
abstract: An increasing body of evidence supports the benefits of regional anesthesia in orthopedic surgery. Compared with systemic anesthetic and analgesic approaches, these benefits include more focused and sustained pain control, less systemic side effects, improved patient comfort, earlier mobilization and hospital discharge, lower rates of advanced service requirements, and lower perioperative morbidity and mortality. However, there is discussion about the various outcomes as judged by patients and heath care practitioners. This article recapitulates the literature and presents an overview of endpoints.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine and Intensive Care Medicine, Paracelsus Medical University, Muellner Hauptstrasse 48, Salzburg 5020, Austria.
authors.forename: Ottokar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Stundner
authors.affiliation: Department of Trauma Surgery and Sports Traumatology, Paracelsus Medical University, Muellner Hauptstrasse 48, Salzburg 5020, Austria.
authors.forename: Rainhold
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ortmaier
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Hospital for Special Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021, USA. Electronic address: memtsoudiss@hss.edu.
authors.forename: Stavros G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Memtsoudis
mesh_terms: D000765:Anesthesia, Conduction / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000401:mortality; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000379:methods*; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Complications; Economic advantages; Functional outcome; Hospital stay; Outcomes; Pain management; Regional anesthesia