[Perioperative care and treatment of chronic pain in Catalonia, Spain].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Perioperative care and chronic pain therapy are anesthesia practices that aim to improve patient safety and well-being. The purpose of this arm of the ANESCAT survey of anesthesia practices in Catalonia, Spain, in 2003 was to describe and quantify these 2 services.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

Taking relevant responses to the ANESCAT 2003 questionnaires, we analyzed type of preanesthetic assessment, use of specialized techniques for postoperative analgesia, and provision of postoperative critical care. We also estimated type and volume of procedures performed by anesthesiologists to treat chronic pain.

RESULTS

A preanesthetic assessment visit took place in an outpatient clinic setting in 47.4% of cases, on a hospital ward in 18.3%, and in the operating room waiting area in 34.3%. Specialized analgesic techniques were provided for 7.6% of postoperative patients, a rate that would put the estimated number of such procedures at 30,321 per year. Postoperative critical care was afforded to 7.7% of patients in the sample, a rate that extrapolates to anesthesia in 44,686 patients in Catalonia annually. Patients benefiting from specialized analgesic techniques and postoperative critical care were older, had worse physical status classifications, and were anesthetized for more aggressive procedures. Approximately 120,000 medical acts related to treatment for chronic pain were undertaken by anesthetists in Catalonia in 2003.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of ANESCAT 2003 reveal the considerable scope of Catalan anesthetists' practice in perioperative care management and chronic pain therapy, but more human resources and organizational attention are still needed for ideal workload management.