一般社団法人日本区域麻酔学会―設立経緯ならびに現況と課題―

History of the Establishment of the Japanese Society of Regional Anesthesia, the Current Situation, and Future Challenges

はじめに

　近年，周術期管理における区域麻酔の重要性が注目されるなか，国際的にはそれぞれの地域の区域麻酔関連学会が中心となり，区域麻酔に関する臨床・教育・研究が急速に発展してきた。区域麻酔の領域に含まれるものとして，手術麻酔はもちろん，術後鎮痛，ペインクリニック，緩和医療，無痛分娩，そして局所麻酔薬など多くの分野が挙げられる。残念ながら日本においてはこれらの領域を統合してリードする学会が当時はなく，早急にこの分野の臨床・教育・研究の発展を進める学会の設立が必要であった。このような背景のもと，日本区域麻酔学会は2013年に設立された。設立10周年を経過したが，検定試験ならびに認定医制度を確立し，学会公認の有資格インストラクターによるハンズオンワークショップを開催するなどの努力を重ね，会員数も約2,500名まで増加した。学会の設立の経緯とともに現状を概説し，今後の課題についてまとめる。

　The Japanese Society of Regional Anesthesia was established in 2013, and this year marks its 10th anniversary. The importance of regional anesthesia in perioperative patient management is attracting increasing attention. The field of regional anesthesia includes many subfields such as surgical anesthesia, postoperative analgesia, pain clinics, palliative care, painless childbirth, and local anesthetics. The Japanese Society of Regional Anesthesiology aims to disseminate clinical practice guidelines, education, and research in these areas, and it is active internationally as an affiliated society. The number of members has increased to about 2,500 as a result of efforts such as the establishment of the certificate examination and the certified anesthesiologist system, and the introduction of an instructor system of qualified hands-on workshops. Future challenges include popularizing the term ‘regional anesthesia,’ which is a relatively new field in Japan, and organizing and unifying the terminology related to regional anesthesia. In addition to preventing infectious diseases, a major mission of this society is to hold both hands-on courses and online training courses that can be attended from remote locations.