• Filippo Sanfilippo, Alberto Noto, Gaetano J Palumbo, Mariachiara Ippolito, Mariapia Gagliardone, Maria Scarlata, Elena Bignami, Fabio Sangalli, Sergio Cattaneo, Ilaria Blangetti, Sabino Scolletta, Alessandro Locatelli, Luigi Tritapepe, Ferdinando L Lorini, and Antonio Arcadipane.
• Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, IRCCS-ISMETT (Istituto Mediterraneo per i Trapianti e Terapie ad alta specializzazione), Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: filipposanfi@yahoo.it.
• J. Cardiothorac. Vasc. Anesth. 2018 Dec 1; 32 (6): 2459-2466.

ObjectiveThere is increasing burnout incidence among medical disciplines, and physicians working in emergency settings seem at higher risk. Cardiac anesthesiology is a stressful anesthesiology subspecialty dealing with high-risk patients. The authors hypothesized a high risk of burnout in cardiac anesthesiologists.DesignNational survey conducted on burnout.SettingItalian cardiac centers.ParticipantsCardiac anesthesiologists.InterventionsThe authors administered via email an anonymous questionnaire divided into 3 parts. The first 2 parts evaluated workload and private life. The third part consisted of the Maslach Burnout Inventory test with its 3 constituents: high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment.Measurements And Main ResultsThe authors measured the prevalence and risk of burnout through the Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire and analyzed factors influencing burnout. Among 670 contacts from 71 centers, 382 cardiac anesthesiologists completed the survey (57%). The authors found the following mean Maslach Burnout Inventory values: 14.5 ± 9.7 (emotional exhaustion), 9.1 ± 7.1 (depersonalization), and 33.7 ± 8.9 (personal accomplishment). A rate of 34%, 54%, and 66% of respondents scored in "high" or "moderate-high" risk of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment, respectively). The authors found that, if offered to change subspecialty, 76% of respondents would prefer to remain in cardiac anesthesiology. This preference and parenthood were the only 2 investigated factors with a protective effect against all components of burnout. Significantly lower burnout scores were found in more experienced anesthesiologists.ConclusionA relatively high incidence of burnout was found in cardiac anesthesiologists, especially regarding high depersonalization and low personal accomplishment. Nonetheless, most of the respondents would choose to remain in cardiac anesthesiology.Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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