title: Anesthesiologists' views on using immune modulating drugs in pain medicine.
abstract: With few exceptions, anesthesiologists have not received training in the use of immune modulating drugs (IMDs); but recent evidence suggests that such drugs may be effective in reducing chronic pain. We therefore wished to learn how anesthesiologists working in pain medicine might envisage the treatment of their patients with IMDs in the future. We expected that anesthesiologists would want to refer patients for treatment with IMDs to medical colleagues, such as oncologists or rheumatologists, with prior experience in using these drugs, rather than treat these patients within their own practice. We conducted questionnaire surveys among anesthesiologists working in pain medicine in both the Netherlands and the U.K. to explore their views on using IMDs. Contrary to what we had expected, we found that a majority of the respondents would administer IMDs within their own practice, after appropriate training. The overall response rates were 30% and 23%, respectively; therefore, no firm conclusions can be drawn as to the views of the majority of practicing pain specialists. Our findings may have implications for the planning of both health service delivery and training in pain medicine.
authors.affiliation: Pain Research Institute, Liverpool University, Clinical Sciences Building, University Hospital Aintree/The Walton Centre, Liverpool L9 7AL, UK. andreasgoebel@rocketmail.com
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goebel
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: DuToit
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Huygen
mesh_terms: D000776:Anesthesiology; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009426:Netherlands; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010820:Physicians; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom
chemical_list: D007155:Immunologic Factors