Anesthesia Care Provided by Nurses

Abstract

One systematic review, 4 primary studies (observational studies: 3 retrospective and 1 prospective), and 1 economic evaluation were identified. A definitive conclusion is not possible regarding the clinical effectiveness of anesthesia provided by non-physician anesthetists compared with physician anesthetists, considering the evidence was from studies of low quality that were associated with considerable risk of bias, and there were inconsistencies in the findings. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for physician anesthesiologists compared with nurse anesthetists was US$77,400 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. The 1-way sensitivity analyses showed that with an increase in the cost of nurse anesthetist professional services or an increase in the number of unexpected hospital days, the ICER values would fall below US$50,000 per QALY gained.