A collaborative regional ocular anesthesia training program: successes and failures

Abstract Study Objective: To describe a collaborative effort of the departments of ophthalmology and anesthesiology to teach anesthesiology residents regional ocular anesthesia; to detect any differences in positive or negative outcomes after blocks performed by anesthesiology residents versus blocks performed by ophthalmology residents. Design: Prospective descriptive, study. Setting: Outpatient surgery in a university-affiliated veterans affairs hospital. Patients: 614 patients requiring elective ocular surgery. Interventions: Outcomes from patients who underwent regional anesthesia performed by ophthalmology residents were compared to outcomes from patients who received anesthesia from anesthesiology residents. Measurements and Main Results: A detailed description of the collaborative teaching program in ocular anesthesia is presented. Ophthalmology residents performed the majority of regional ocular blocks (87% vs. 13%). There was no statistical difference in the incidence of negative outcomes, such as retrobulbar hemorrhage, between ophthalmology residents and anesthesiology residents (3/534 vs. 1/80) or in the incidence of successful blocks (90% for ophthalmology residents vs. 88% for anesthesiology residents). Conclusions: Regional ocular anesthetic techniques can be safely and successfully taught to residents in anesthesiology.