Key result
This narrative review details the content, composition, advantages, limitations, access, and cost of large-scale databases used in anesthesiology research.
Why the study?
Large-scale databases offer abundant perioperative research opportunities, but have unique limitations that researchers must understand to interpret and conduct database studies.
This narrative review provides an overview of the content, advantages, limitations, access, and cost of large-scale databases used for research in anesthesiology.
Guides anesthesiology researchers toward appropriate large databases; leaves open optimal selection for specific perioperative questions.
The utilization of large-scale databases for research in medical fields, including anesthesiology, has increased in popularity over the last decade, likely due to their structured content and relative ease of access. These databases have been used in a variety of perioperative studies, including analyses of risk stratification, preoperative testing, complications, and cost. While these databases contain a wealth of information that allows for an abundance of research opportunities, there are unique limitations to their use. A comprehensive understanding will afford the anesthesiology researcher the knowledge and tools to not only better interpret studies that utilized these databases, but also to conduct analyses of their own. This review details the content and composition of these databases, highlights the advantages of and limitations to their use, and offers information about their access and cost.
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Abdel-Kader et al. (2020) conducted a review in Anesthesiology database research. Large-scale databases was evaluated. This narrative review details the content, composition, advantages, limitations, access, and cost of large-scale databases used in anesthesiology research.
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