Defining success in regional anaesthesia.

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology and Peri-operative Medicine
• Health Services Research
• Medical Education

Background:

• Global utilization of regional anaesthesia is rising.
• Quantifying the precise benefits of individual regional anaesthesia procedures remains a challenge.
• Peri-operative interventions require benefit to outweigh patient risk and resource use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify key markers for assessing success in regional anaesthesia.
• To categorize these markers into an objective, structured framework.
• To provide recommendations for utilizing outcome measurement to advance regional anaesthesia practices globally.

Main Methods:

• Literature review to identify existing and potential markers of success.
• Development of a categorization framework based on four distinct pillars.
• Synthesis of findings to propose a structured approach to outcome measurement.

Main Results:

• A novel framework for measuring regional anaesthesia success has been developed.
• The framework comprises four pillars: patient-centred, population-centred, healthcare-centred, and training-centred outcomes.
• Each pillar includes specific outcomes to guide measurement and development.

Conclusions:

• A standardized framework is essential for evaluating and advancing regional anaesthesia.
• Implementing this framework can facilitate the widespread adoption and improvement of regional anaesthesia techniques.
• Systematic outcome measurement is crucial for the evolution of this subspecialty on a global scale.