Aim: To achieve more information on anaesthesia practice in Italy.
Methods: One questionnaire was completed for every anaesthetic procedure performed during the last week of June 1999 in 162 public hospitals selected in the northern, central and southern parts of Italy.
Results: A total of 12 263 anaesthetic procedures were performed during the study week in participating hospitals, extrapolating to 4 905200 anaesthetic procedures performed in Italy in 1999 (95% confidence interval, (+/-245000), with an annual rate of 8.5 anaesthetic procedures per 100 population. Children represented 12%, adults 60%, and elderly patients 28% of all studied patients. Emergency procedures were performed in 14% of cases; only 14% of cases were outpatients, but 31% of patients were discharged within 48 h after surgery. General anaesthesia was used in 65% of cases (45% volatile and 20% intravenous anaesthesia), regional anaesthesia in 24%, local anaesthesia in 8.8% and monitored anaesthesia care in 2.2%. No differences in the distribution of anaesthesia techniques were observed according to the geographic region or hospital size.
Conclusion: Some organizational problems still remain to be implemented, including the development of proper preoperative evaluation clinics and postanaesthesia care units, especially in bigger hospitals with more than 1 000 beds.