RESULTS OF SURVEY BY THE LOCAL-ANESTHESIA RESEARCH GROUP OF THE DGAI

Results of a poll carried out by the working group Regional Anaesthesi a of the DGAI. Regional anaesthetic techniques are particularly suitab le in the field of ambulatory surgery. Questions addressed to the work ing group for Regional Anaesthesia of the DGAI, however, show that the re is uncertainty about monitoring requirements during anaesthesia and with respect to the criteria to be applied to patient discharge follo wing such procedures. With the aim of establishing aids for decision-m aking, a questionnaire campaign was undertaken to establish present pr actice. A total of 132 such questionnaires were available for final ev aluation The most commonly performed techniques, also in ambulatory pa tients were plexus anaesthesia and intravenous regional anaesthesia. A high level of agreement was found with respect to the circulatory var iables considered to be in need of monitoring, while in the case of ot her questions (''Is pulse oximetry mandatory?'', ''Do sensory and moto r functions have to be completely restored before the patient is disch arged?''), a wide range of different approaches were adopted. For this reason, it is not intended here to derive any general recommendations from the results obtained; rather, suggestions are made for the estab lishment of standards within the scope of personal responsibility.