[Therapy of chronic ischemic pain in peripheral arterial disease. A survey among physicians]. / Therapie chronischer Ischämieschmerzen bei peripherer arterieller Verschlusskrankheit. Eine Arztebefragung.

BACKGROUND: The intention of this study was to determine the status quo of commonly used pain therapies amongst treating physicians of different specialties and to examine their view on the problem of chronic ischemic pain. METHODS: A total of 281 physicians treating patients with chronic ischemic pain were surveyed. The surveyed physicians were mainly specialists in the fields of surgery, pain therapy, and internal medicine. RESULTS: Mainly a pharmacological therapy (metamizol/paracetamol, weak and strong opioids) was used in the treatment of chronic ischemic pain. We found differences between the specialties, for instance pain specialists used antidepressants and anticonvulsants more often than others. Therapeutic options were also evaluated differently by surgeons, pain therapists, and internal specialists: 57% of the surgeons considered the available symptomatic treatment options as sufficient whereas only 21% of the pain specialists agreed with that opinion. CONCLUSION: The differences among the specialties and the fact that the majority of physicians characterized the available symptomatic treatment options as insufficient point towards a need to review the treatment of ischemic pain in an interdisciplinary approach.