The Use of Regional Anesthesia by Anesthesiologists in Nigeria

There is growing interest in the use of regional anesthesia worldwide. With this survey, we determined the use of regional techniques among anesthesiologists in Nigeria using a cross-sectional study design. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to a randomly generated list of anesthesiologists in Nigeria. From 196 questionnaires, 140 anesthesiologists (71.4%) responded. Regular use of spinal, epidural, and peripheral nerve blocks was 92.9%, 15%, and 2.9%, respectively. A high percentage of respondents (47.1%) had never performed a nerve block and only 31.4% had used a nerve stimulator technique. Limited exposure to equipment and techniques accounted for their lack of use.