• N Alaouabda and D Harmon.
• Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine, Mid-Western Regional Hospitals, Dooradoyle, Limerick, Republic of Ireland. nabilal@hotmail.com
• Ir J Med Sci. 2011 Jun 1; 180 (2): 407-15.

BackgroundTo date, there is no information on anaesthetists' practice of chronic pain management in the Republic of Ireland.AimsTo describe the pattern of chronic pain practice (CPP) among consultant anaesthetists in Ireland.MethodsA detailed questionnaire was sent to all consultant anaesthetists in the Republic of Ireland (n = 254).ResultsThe 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%).ConclusionOne-third of consultant anaesthetists in the Republic surveyed incorporate chronic pain in their practice and their pattern of practice is widely diversified.

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