Faculty Collaboration Database

Current practice in postoperative epidural analgesia: a german survey. Anesth Analg 2002 Dec;95(6):1767-9, table of contents

Date

11/29/2002

Pubmed ID

12456455

DOI

10.1097/00000539-200212000-00055

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0036896770 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   16 Citations

Abstract

UNLABELLED: We surveyed current German practice in postoperative epidural analgesia (EA). Of 300 questionnaires sent anonymously, 147 (49%) were returned fully completed. A 24-h acute pain service (APS) was offered in 41% of German hospitals. Seventy percent of the large teaching hospitals (>1000 beds) offered an APS, whereas just 9% of the hospitals of <500 beds provided an APS. Small-size hospitals (<200 beds) preferred ropivacaine as the local anesthetic (LA) in contrast to large teaching hospitals using more bupivacaine than ropivacaine. In the general ward setting, 36% of the respondents used plain LA, and 64% combined the LA with an opioid. If ropivacaine was used, 0.2% was the most popular concentration (78%), combined with morphine (17%), fentanyl (14%), or sufentanil (75%). If bupivacaine was used, 0.25% was the preferred concentration (30%), combined with morphine (40%), fentanyl (8%), or sufentanil (60%). On wards, 58% of German anesthetic departments used continuous epidural infusion, 57% bolus doses, and 20% patient-controlled EA mode. We conclude that the availability of a 24-h APS (41%) in German hospitals corresponds favorably to international data. EA with the combination of LAs and opioids was the most common modality in the ward setting.

IMPLICATIONS: We surveyed current German practice in postoperative epidural analgesia. We found that the availability of a 24-h acute pain service (41%) in German hospitals corresponds favorably to international practice. Epidural analgesia with the combination of local anesthetics and opioids was the most common modality in the ward setting.

Author List

Kampe S, Kiencke P, Krombach J, Cranfield K, Kasper SM, Diefenbach C

Author

Jens Krombach MD Vice Chair, Director, Professor in the Anesthesiology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Analgesia, Epidural
Germany
Humans
Pain, Postoperative