From data to quality: the story of Anaesthesia QUAlity (A-QUA), Switzerland's Anaesthesia QUAlity initiative and database
Authors' conclusion
A-QUA is a robust, validated programme for national anaesthesia quality monitoring in Switzerland, enabling benchmarking, targeted quality improvement and peri-operative research through continuous, standardised data collection.
Study context
- Population
- All patients receiving anaesthesia from participating public and private Swiss anaesthesia providers, 2017–2024cases from 54 centres
- Participants
- 2,045,026 patients
- Outcome
- Hospital and clinic participation, case volume, data completeness, plausibility checks, patient characteristics, anaesthesia techniques, durations, peri-operative events and postoperative care
Methodological detailsnationwide, multicentre registry, routine data
- Nationwide
- Multicentre registry
- Routine data
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Registry structure, participation and case characteristics · end of 2024
- Centres contributing
- 54
- German-speaking region
- 61%
- French-speaking region
- 35%
- Italian-speaking region
- 4%
- Large teaching hospitals
- 74%
- Small and medium-sized teaching hospitals
- 17%
- Nonteaching hospitals
- 8.8%
- Median age, years
- 56
- Women
- 52%
- ASA I to II
- 66%
- GA (including combined)
- 74%
- RA alone
- 18%
- MAC
- 8.5%
- Median anaesthesia duration, min
- 122
- Median surgical duration, min
- 53
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Case studies of the five most frequent procedures
- Regional and hospital variation in anaesthesia choice, timing and postoperative destination
Original publication
From data to quality: the story of A-QUA, Switzerland's Anaesthesia QUAlity initiative and database. Eur J Anaesthesiol Intensive Care. Published 2 June 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →