• S Sabaté, J Canet, C Gomar, J Castillo, A Villalonga, and Investigateurs ANESCAT.
• Département d'anesthésie, Fundació Puigvert (IUNA), C/Cartagena 340, 08025 Barcelone, Espagne. 29285sst@comb.es
• Ann Fr Anesth Reanim. 2008 May 1;27(5):371-83.

ObjectiveThe aim of this is study was to describe the epidemiology of anaesthesia practice in Catalonia, Spain, in 2003.Study DesignA prospective, cross-sectional survey was carried out on 14 randomly chosen days in 2003.MethodsA questionnaire on each anaesthetic procedure provided information about patient characteristics, technique, and the intervention for which anaesthesia was needed. The results were extrapolated to the population and expressed as annual rates of anaesthetic procedures per 100 inhabitants were calculated.ResultsAll 131 identified centres (55.7% private, 44.3% public) participated. Based on the 23,136 completed questionnaires collected in the survey, it was estimated that 603,189 procedures were performed. The annual rate of anaesthesia was nine per 100 inhabitants. Women represented 58% of the population. The median age was 52 years and 39.3% of procedures were performed in patients over the age of 60 years. The percentage of patients with an American Society of Anesthesiologists class 3 rating or more was 26.7%. Anaesthesia practice was divided into that associated with surgery (78.4%), obstetrics (11.3%), and other non-surgical procedures (10.4%). Outpatients accounted for 34.3% and emergency patients for 20.3%. Regional anaesthesia was most common (41.4%), with spinal block being the most widely used regional technique. There were an estimated 12.5 anaesthesiologists per 100000 inhabitants.ConclusionFemales, older patients, or those with poor physical status make high demands on resources, as do procedures in obstetrics, orthopaedics and ophthalmology. These needs must be planned for in the organization of services and training.

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