Place of regional blocks in surgical anesthesia

Abstract

The development of regional anesthesia is associated with the introduction into clinical practice of means of delivering drugs directly to the site of their action, the use of epidural PCA, the development of combined spinal-epidural anesthesia, as well as the synthesis of new low-toxic local anesthetics. Regional anesthesia occupy a significant place in the overall structure of anesthesia. Currently, regional anesthesia is considered not only as a method of anesthesia during surgery and postoperative analgesia, but also as a factor that has a powerful influence on the outcome of surgical treatment. The frequency of application of regional anesthesia methods in developed countries of Europe and North America is 35-40%. Up to 40% of all outpatient operations, and in Scandinavia, up to 85% are performed under conditions of spinal, epilural or spinal-epidural anesthesia. Ease of implementation by a specialist, accessibility and versatility give every reason to recommend regional anesthesia and analgesia as a method of anesthesia in the intra- and postoperative period, both in “pure” form and as a component of anesthesia software.