Anesthesia Practices for Interventional Radiology in Europe

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Interventional Radiology
• Anesthesiology

Background:

• Interventional Radiology (IR) practices exhibit considerable variability in Europe regarding settings, staffing, and anesthetic management.
• A growing debate exists concerning sedation administered by non-anesthesiologists in IR procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the current European status of anesthetic practices within interventional radiology.
• To identify factors influencing anesthetic care and the expansion of IR as a subspecialty.

Main Methods:

• An anonymous online survey was distributed to all European members of the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE).
• The survey collected data on IR settings, demographics, peri-procedural care, anesthetic management, resources, staffing, pain management, safety, and emergency protocols.

Main Results:

• Significant country-specific differences and national regulations impact IR practice and subspecialty expansion.
• Local factors such as center size and availability of inpatient beds and anesthesia staff play a crucial role.
• Practitioners with limited anesthesia support perceive a greater need for enhanced sedation skills in IR.

Conclusions:

• Country variations, regulations, and the anesthesia community's stance on non-anesthesiologist sedation pose significant barriers to advancing peri-procedural anesthetic care in European IR.
• These challenges hinder potential European-level initiatives for standardized anesthetic care in IR.