[Epidemiology of anesthesia in Catalonia, Spain, in 2003]

This article provides an epidemiological description of anesthesia practice in Catalonia, Spain, in 2003.

Descriptive data on sex, age, and physical status of patients according to American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification were taken from responses to the questionnaire used in the ANESCAT 2003 survey. The results were extrapolated to the population of Catalonia in 2003 and the annual rates of anesthesia per 100 inhabitants calculated.

Based on the 23,136 completed questionnaires collected in the ANESCAT 2003 survey, it is estimated that 603,189 anesthetic procedures were performed in Catalonia (95% confidence interval [CI], 579,010-627,368). The annual rate of anesthesia was 9 per 100 inhabitants (95% CI, 8.6-9.4). Women represented 58% of the population in which anesthesia was performed. The median (10th-90th percentile) age was 52 (21-78) years and anesthetic procedures performed in patients over the age of 60 accounted for 39.3% of the total. The largest number of anesthetic procedures was performed in the 70 to 74 year age bracket (56,000 procedures). Below the age of 14, more males than females received anesthesia, while above that age the majority of patients were female. The highest rate of anesthesia was in men aged between 75 and 79 years (22.0%) and the lowest was in girls aged between 10 and 14 years (1.8%). The percentage of patients with an ASA class of 3 or more was 26.7%. Physical status was worse in male than in female patients. Forty-seven percent of all anesthetic procedures were performed in the city of Barcelona.

The annual rate of anesthesia in Catalonia was 9 per 100 inhabitants, and was almost 3 times higher in the city of Barcelona than in the rest of the geographical area. Comparison with data from other European countries revealed higher severity and a larger proportion of women and older patients in Catalonia.