Hammer Sascha, Krawczyk Anna, Messerer Brigitte, Neuwersch-Sommeregger Stefan, Reinbacher Patrick, Schittek Gregor, Sandner-Kiesling Andreas
Klin. Abt. für Anästhesiologie und Intensivmedizin I, Universitätsklinik für Anästhesiologie und Intensivmedizin, Medizinische Universität Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 5/5, 8010, Graz, Österreich.
Abteilung für Anästhesiologie und Intensivmedizin, Klinikum Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Österreich.
Schmerz. 2025 Jun;39(3):211-220. doi: 10.1007/s00482-025-00871-z. Epub 2025 Mar 17.
According to a 2020 report by the Austrian Pain Society (ÖSG), between 1.5 and 1.8 million people in Austria suffer from chronic pain. For the treatment of these patients, multimodal pain therapy in specialized pain therapy facilities should be considered. This study aimed to analyze the actual postpandemic state of care in pain clinics in 2022 and to show how it has changed in recent years.
In our survey, the heads or employees of all anesthesiology departments in Austria were asked via SurveyMonkey (SurveyMonkey Inc., San Mateo, CA, USA) using an access code to compare the pre- to postpandemic status of their pain clinics. Only anesthesiology departments were contacted, as pain clinics in Austria are almost entirely run by them. This survey was sent online by email to the heads of Austrian hospitals with an existing pain clinic and was open for completion from autumn 2022 to May 2023.
Of the 109 surveyed clinics, 92 participated in our study. Only 51 currently operate a pain clinic, seven of which are full-time. Nine pain clinics had closed since 2014, while seven new ones have opened. According to our data, only one specialized hospital and two basic care hospitals offer multimodal pain therapy. Invasive procedures were used more often compared to multimodal pain therapy.
Despite the nominal increase of pain clinics in Austria, there is a multifactorial discrepancy between the recommendation of the Austrian Pain Society and the actual care of patients with chronic pain in Austria. Administrative and personnel obstacles must be overcome to meet the needs of this patient group. In addition, efforts to increase the interest of physicians in chronic pain management are needed. Greater support from healthcare policies and effective integration of pain clinics into the healthcare system could help improve the care situation.
根据奥地利疼痛协会（ÖSG）2020年的一份报告，奥地利有150万至180万人患有慢性疼痛。对于这些患者的治疗，应考虑在专业疼痛治疗机构进行多模式疼痛治疗。本研究旨在分析2022年疼痛诊所疫情后的实际护理状况，并展示其近年来的变化情况。
在我们的调查中，通过SurveyMonkey（美国加利福尼亚州圣马特奥市的SurveyMonkey公司）使用访问代码，要求奥地利所有麻醉科的负责人或员工比较其疼痛诊所疫情前和疫情后的状况。仅联系了麻醉科，因为奥地利的疼痛诊所几乎完全由它们运营。该调查通过电子邮件在线发送给设有疼痛诊所的奥地利医院的负责人，于2022年秋季至2023年5月开放供填写。
在接受调查的109家诊所中，有92家参与了我们的研究。目前只有51家设有疼痛诊所，其中7家是全职的。自2014年以来，有9家疼痛诊所关闭，同时有7家新诊所开业。根据我们的数据，只有一家专科医院和两家基层护理医院提供多模式疼痛治疗。与多模式疼痛治疗相比，侵入性手术的使用更为频繁。
尽管奥地利疼痛诊所的名义数量有所增加，但奥地利疼痛协会的建议与奥地利慢性疼痛患者的实际护理之间存在多因素差异。必须克服行政和人员方面的障碍，以满足这一患者群体的需求。此外，还需要努力提高医生对慢性疼痛管理的兴趣。医疗政策提供更多支持以及将疼痛诊所有效融入医疗体系有助于改善护理状况。
