Relationship Between Using Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pain Treatment and Physicians' Training and Attitudes Toward Patients and the Effects on Patient Care.

AIMS: To determine the use of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for chronic pain (CP) management; analyze the effects of training in pain and the attitudes of physicians toward pain and CP patients on the adherence to these CPGs; and assess the impact of adherence to CPGs on patient care. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional study in a sample of physicians involved in CP patient management. Information on the use of CPGs for CP management, their training in pain, and their attitudes toward pain, patients, and patient care was collected. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were performed, and a multinomial logistic regression model was constructed to analyze factors associated with the use of CPGs. RESULTS: Of the 257 physicians surveyed, 46.6% were physiatrists, 26.7% were general practitioners, and 26.7% were medical oncologists. Although 96.5% claimed to have received training in pain, only 10.1% had received college training, and 76.3% expressed having gaps in their knowledge; 53.9% stated they applied CPGs often/always, and 12.5% rarely/never. Limited knowledge on pain, reduced involvement in training activities, more negative attitudes toward patients, and having experienced CP were the factors related to reduced adherence to CPGs, especially among the youngest respondents. The greater the use of CPGs, the better the patient care was. CONCLUSIONS: Access to scientific information and specialized training are factors related to the use of CPGs for pain treatment. Therefore, the inclusion of CP training in university and during medical specialty training will be essential measures to improve adherence to CPG, thereby improving patient care and pain control.

Epidural hematoma after epidural block: implications for its use in pain management.

BACKGROUND: Spinal epidural hematoma after spinal puncture such as for injection of steroids for pain management may result in a rare complication of a spinal epidural hematoma causing acute myelopathy. Although this complication is well known with epidural anesthesia, where it is usually seen with impaired hemostasis, there are surprisingly few case reports of epidural hematoma after an epidural steroid block. CASE DESCRIPTION: A healthy 34-year-old man with no evidence of coagulopathy and not taking antiplatelet medication suddenly had onset of acute cervical myelopathy from a large cervical epidural hematoma 8 days after a cervical epidural steroid block. Following prompt surgical evacuation of the clot, the patient made a near complete recovery. CONCLUSION: Spinal epidural hematoma after spinal puncture is usually associated with impaired hemostasis. This case illustrates that it may occur in the absence of known risk factors. The delayed onset and the absence of risk factors have implications for the use of this procedure in chronic pain management.