Anaesthetics at the heart of Enhanced Recovery

摘要

This Edition of Current Anaesthesia is devoted to Enhanced Recovery surgical pathways. Why devote an entire issue of an anaesthetic journal to surgical pathways? The various Doppler fluid optimisation trials and the recently completed National Technology Adoption Centre project on the practical effect of implementing Oesophageal Doppler monitoring1 demonstrate that intraoperative anaesthetic management can have a direct bearing on postoperative outcomes such as length of stay. Hence as anaesthetists we should be judged not just on traditional 'anaesthetic' outcomes of postoperative pain and nausea, but on the basis of our shared responsibility for 'surgical' outcomes such as complications and length of stay. However anaesthetists have an important role to play at all stages in the perioperative journey, not just in the operating theatre. They have a vital role in helping develop sensible, safe and workable peri-operative pathways.