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.