Heterogeneity Among Countries in the Subspecialty of Cardiovascular Anesthesia in Latin America: Survey Results

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate demographics, workload, training, facilities, and equipment in cardiovascular anesthesia (CVA) in Latin America (LA).

Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study with data collected through a survey.

Setting: A multicenter, international web-based questionnaire that included 37 multiple-choice questions.

Participants: Physicians and specialists in anesthesiology who regularly participated in cardiovascular surgeries and were members of the scientific societies of the Latin American Confederation of Anesthesiology.

Interventions: None MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 484 completed questionnaires were collected. A total of 97.8% of the respondents had a university degree in anesthesiology. Most did not receive formal training in CVA, and only 41.5% received formal training. Moreover, most of them were trained in their own country, and a smaller percentage were trained abroad. Half of the respondents reported receiving <12 months of training. A third part of the respondents had received training in transesophageal echocardiography. Only 5.8% of the respondents worked exclusively in CVA, and a high percentage dedicated <60% of their weekly work hours to this subspecialty. A total of 80.6% of the centers had <3 cardiac surgery operating rooms. Only one-third of the centers performed heart/lung transplantation, venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and ventricular assist device implantation.

Conclusions: A significant lack of training programs in anesthesiology practice and complex procedures in medical centers in LA are evident. Thus, basic accredited programs should be developed in medical centers in LA.

Keywords: cardiac anesthesia survey; cardiovascular anesthesia; fellowship accreditation; graduate medical education.