(620) Use of the IASP Questionnaire in Anesthesia‐based Chronic Pain Practice: Clinical and Methodological Issues

Authors: Howard Smith, Albany Medical College; Edmund Burke, Albany Medical College Aim of Investigation: To examine methodological issues and clinical utility of the IASP Questionnaire in an outpatient anesthesia‐based Chronic Pain Practice. Methods: A sample of 110 patients (46 male, 64 female; mean age 44) presenting to the pain program completed the entire IASP Questionnaire at intake and completed selected sections of the instrument during follow‐up visits (mean of 10.67 months from the initial evaluation; range 5–24 months). Selected variables (re: measures of worst pain, least pain, current pain, activity levels, mood, past treatment response, sexual relations, sleep, life enjoyment/ability to work, treatment satisfaction) were examined in terms of their association with patient‐reported measures of treatment success (ie, symptom reduction). Results: Patients' report of percent improvement in pain symptomatology as a result of treatment was found to be associated with several historical/personal/pain descriptive variables including whether they had responded to past attempts at treatment, the extent to which they felt pain interfered with their ability to work, the number of times they presented for emergency room treatment, and extent of hospitalization. Conclusions: The chronic pain physician must be cognizant of patient variables that predict positive response to treatment in the clinical setting. The IASP Questionnaire seems to be useful in this regard. Further, it may be possible to obtain good predictive power by focusing on a limited number of patient variables, thus making the IASP as patient‐friendly as it is heuristically valuable.