Trends in Patient Satisfaction Following Regional Anesthesia Techniques

Abstract

Patient satisfaction has become a central outcome in regional anesthesia research as peripheral nerve blocks, neuraxial techniques, and continuous catheter systems have moved into routine ambulatory practice, yet satisfaction and block success are only loosely coupled outcomes. This review synthesizes registry, cohort, and randomized trial evidence on what predicts patient satisfaction with regional anesthesia, from block failure and breakthrough pain to the psychological experience of remaining awake during surgery. Comparative studies of regional versus general anesthesia show no consistent satisfaction advantage for regional technique, and some report the opposite, particularly for upper extremity surgery under tourniquet. Continuous peripheral nerve catheters extend the anesthesia experience into an unsupervised recovery period in which self-management confidence, not analgesic efficacy alone, drives satisfaction. Across settings, preoperative communication and anxiety management emerge as levers at least as influential as block technique itself, suggesting that further satisfaction gains lie more in expectation-setting than in further technical refinement.