title: Chronic pain practice by consultant anaesthetists in the Republic of Ireland.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To date, there is no information on anaesthetists' practice of chronic pain management in the Republic of Ireland.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the pattern of chronic pain practice (CPP) among consultant anaesthetists in Ireland.
  
  
  METHODS
  A detailed questionnaire was sent to all consultant anaesthetists in the Republic of Ireland (n = 254).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall response rate was 50% (n = 127). While 28% of responding anaesthetists were involved in CPP, in the majority of cases, this accounted for less than 20% of their clinical time. 39% of those involved in CPP had previous training in chronic pain management. The types of CPP included nerve blocks (67%) and pharmacological treatment (44%) in non-cancer pain (67%) and cancer pain (61%) patients. Epidural steroid injection was the most commonly practiced intervention (89%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One-third of consultant anaesthetists in the Republic surveyed incorporate chronic pain in their practice and their pattern of practice is widely diversified.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine, Mid-Western Regional Hospitals, Dooradoyle, Limerick, Republic of Ireland. nabilal@hotmail.com
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alaouabda
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harmon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000776:Anesthesiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control*; D059408:Pain Management; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires