TY - JOUR

T1 - Limited use of local anesthesia for open inguinal hernia repair

T2 - a qualitative study

AU - Olsen, J. H. H.

AU - Laursen, J.

AU - Rosenberg, J.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag France SAS, part of Springer Nature.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Purpose: Local anesthesia for open inguinal hernia repair is recommended by guidelines but is rarely used in clinical practice in several countries. This study aimed to explore physician’s considerations in choosing type of anesthesia and barriers for implementing local anesthesia for open hernia repair in clinical practice. Methods: We performed individual semi-structured interviews of surgeons and anesthesiologists. Transcribed data were condensed, coded, categorized, and formulated into themes in an inductive qualitative content analysis. Results: Twenty two participants from seven public hospitals were included in the study. Participants described a standardized setup for general anesthesia with use of intravenous propofol/remifentanil and a laryngeal mask and were generally satisfied with this setup. Their considerations in choosing anesthesia could be described in four themes: (1) Intraoperative pain and quality of surgical technique, (2) Communication and teaching, (3) Logistics, and (4) Clinical routines. Conclusion: Participants considered intraoperative pain and quality of surgical technique, communication and teaching, logistics, and clinical routines as important factors when choosing anesthesia for open inguinal hernia repair and these factors acted as barriers for implementing of local anesthesia in Danish public hospitals. In this setting, implementation strategies should, therefore, be multimodal to address these barriers. The potential workload in such an effort should be justified by evidence supporting specific types of local anesthesia comapared with general anesthesia with use of propofol/remifentanil and a laryngeal mask.

AB - Purpose: Local anesthesia for open inguinal hernia repair is recommended by guidelines but is rarely used in clinical practice in several countries. This study aimed to explore physician’s considerations in choosing type of anesthesia and barriers for implementing local anesthesia for open hernia repair in clinical practice. Methods: We performed individual semi-structured interviews of surgeons and anesthesiologists. Transcribed data were condensed, coded, categorized, and formulated into themes in an inductive qualitative content analysis. Results: Twenty two participants from seven public hospitals were included in the study. Participants described a standardized setup for general anesthesia with use of intravenous propofol/remifentanil and a laryngeal mask and were generally satisfied with this setup. Their considerations in choosing anesthesia could be described in four themes: (1) Intraoperative pain and quality of surgical technique, (2) Communication and teaching, (3) Logistics, and (4) Clinical routines. Conclusion: Participants considered intraoperative pain and quality of surgical technique, communication and teaching, logistics, and clinical routines as important factors when choosing anesthesia for open inguinal hernia repair and these factors acted as barriers for implementing of local anesthesia in Danish public hospitals. In this setting, implementation strategies should, therefore, be multimodal to address these barriers. The potential workload in such an effort should be justified by evidence supporting specific types of local anesthesia comapared with general anesthesia with use of propofol/remifentanil and a laryngeal mask.

KW - Anesthesia

KW - Guideline adherence

KW - Inguinal hernia

KW - Qualitative research

U2 - 10.1007/s10029-021-02540-3

DO - 10.1007/s10029-021-02540-3

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34826018

AN - SCOPUS:85119985658

VL - 26

SP - 1077

EP - 1082

JO - Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery

JF - Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery

SN - 1265-4906

ER -