The effect of anaesthetist grade and frequency of insertion on epidural failure: a service evaluation in a United Kingdom teaching hospital

Abstract

This study demonstrates that failure rates for postoperative epidural analgesia in major surgery are not dependent upon the frequency with which practitioners insert epidural catheters. However, failure rates are dependent on permanency of anaesthetic staff. These findings are significant when placed in the context of the General Medical Council's requirements for clinicians to maintain competence in their clinical practice, suggesting that institutional factors may have greater bearing on epidural success or failure than frequency of task performance.