Risk management in regional anesthesia: preface and comments

The benefits of regional anesthesia for surgical procedures, when compared with general anesthesia and/or systemic analgesia, include improved postoperative analgesia, an associated decrease in postoperative pain medication use, decreased nausea and vomiting, and quicker recovery and discharge from the hospital. Neurologic complications associated with regional anesthesia are extremely rare. Although rare, these complications may be reduced with new regional techniques such as the use of ultrasound or fluoroscopy, but further detailed research is needed. In regional anesthesia, rare but serious complications make it necessary to always consider the risk-benefit ratio. The articles discuss these issues and give advice on its effective and safe conduct.