[Manpower at private university hospitals in Japan]

We studied the numbers of teaching staff in anesthesiology departments and of patients operated on and managed by anesthesiologists at private university hospitals in 1999, in Japan. Questionnaires were sent to 49 institutions, and 36 responded (response rate, 73%). The mean number of patients managed by anesthesiologists in an institution was 3899 (range, 942-8135). The mean number of patients who were managed by a staff anesthesiologist was 428 cases (range, 118-980). The data indicate that a prompt increase in manpower at the private university hospitals is necessary to improve patient care, education, and research work.