Survey of Thoracic Anesthetic Practice in Italy

ObjectiveThe object of this study was to conduct and analyze the output of a survey involving a cohort of all Italian hospitals performing thoracic surgery to gather data on anesthetic management, one-lung ventilation (OLV) management, and post-thoracotomy pain relief in thoracic anesthesia.DesignSurvey.SettingItaly.ParticipantsAn invitation to participate in the survey was e-mailed to all the members of the Italian Society of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine.InterventionNone.Measurements and Main ResultsA total of 62 responses were received from 47 centers. The key findings were: Double-lumen tube is still the first choice lung separation technique in current use; pressure-controlled ventilation and volume-controlled ventilation modes are homogenously distributed across the sample and, a tidal volumes (VT) of 4-6 mL/kg during OLV was preferred to all others; moderate or restrictive fluid management were the most used strategies of fluid administration in thoracic anesthesia; thoracic epidural analgesia represented the “gold standard” for post-thoracotomy pain relief in combination with intravenous analgesia.ConclusionThe results of this survey showed that Italian anesthesiologist follow the recommended standard of care for anesthetic management during OLV.