Thoracic Anaesthesia Practices in Turkey: A Survey Study

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OBJECTIVE: In this survey study, we aimed to investigate thoracic anaesthesia practices in Turkey. METHODS: The survey was sent to the members of the Turkish Society of Anesthesiology and Reanimation by e-mail. Participants were asked to answer 35 questions about their thoracic anaesthesia practice. RESULTS: A total of 148 questionnaires were completed. Most of the participants preferred double-lumen endobronchial tube for one-lung ventilation. 69.6% of auscultation method and 45.9% of fiberoptic bronchoscope method were used to confirm the tube position. The most frequently used additional monitoring method was invasive blood pressure. Generally, intravenous anaesthetic agents were preferred for anaesthesia induction, and a combination of inhalation and intravenous agents was used for anaesthesia maintenance. Most of the participants used intraoperative lung-protective mechanical ventilation strategies. For postoperative analgesia, 75% of participants preferred regional analgesic techniques and 89.9% of them used routine opioid agents. In general, moderate amount of fluid was applied (57.4%), crystalloids were the first choice in fluid therapy, and intraoperative hypotension was generally treated with controlled intravenous fluid and vasoactive agents. The haemoglobin threshold value for blood transfusion was stated as 8 g dL-1 by 35.8% of participants. CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed that the anaesthesia management of thoracic surgery in Turkey is generally compatible with the current international guidelines. However, the following conclusion was reached: training on blood transfusion, the use of fiberoptic bronchoscope, regional techniques, and intraoperative additional monitoring would be beneficial, and a national consensus should be reached on the thoracic anaesthesia practice.