[Descriptive analysis of chronic pain clinics operating in Spain in 2001].
OBJECTIVE
To describe the characteristics and care approaches to care of chronic pain clinics operating in Spain in 2001.


METHODS
Cross-sectional mail survey of pain clinics in Spain.


METHODS
Chronic pain clinics in Spain.


METHODS
Descriptive statistics of pain clinics responding to the questionnaire.


RESULTS
Fifty-six of the 79 pain clinics (70.8%) responded; 57.1% were in public facilities, 55.4% were affiliated with medical schools, and 53.6% were interdisciplinary units. Both acute and chronic pain were treated by 72.4% of the respondents. Anesthesiology departments supervised 89.3% of the clinics. Only 57.1% had staff permanently assigned to the pain clinic. A mean 2194 (SD 2041) visits by patients were received annually. The most commonly applied treatments were drugs, blocks, spinal techniques, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Implantable systems were more frequently used in chronic pain clinics than in mixed pain clinics, and in university-affiliated clinics than in non-teaching facilities (P=0.03 in both comparisons). A psychological approach was used more often in interdisciplinary clinics than in units operated by staff from a single specialty (P<0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Chronic pain clinics were not evenly distributed throughout Spain. The number of patients treated at pain clinics was high. The various characteristics of pain clinics--such as funding source, interdisciplinarity, university affiliation, and specialization in chronic pain--a were factors that affected the use of certain treatments.
Martínez Zapata
M J
MJ
Servicio de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Centro Cochrane Iberoamericano, Hospital Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona. mmartinezz@hsp.santpau.es
Català
E
E
Rigola
M
M
D000208:Acute Disease; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D018710:Pain Clinics / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000600:supply & distribution; D059408:Pain Management; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires