The future role of the anaesthesiologist in pain management

Relieving pain during and after surgery and trauma has always been a basic duty of anaesthesiologists. With their skills and expertise in regional analgesia and pharmacological analgesia, anaesthesiologists have improved management of severe cancer pain. Will there be a place for anaesthesiologists in multidisciplinary pain clinics managing chronic non-cancer pain patients in the future?

This is a personal review of the development of pain management as a growing part of the responsibilities of anaesthesiologists during the past three decades and the importance of continued involvement of anaesthesiologists in this interesting and challenging aspect of clinical medicine.

Optimal management of pain during and after surgery is a prerequisite for successful short- and long-term rehabilitation after surgery. After surgery, reducing dynamic pain with prolonged optimal epidural analgesia and regional blocks facilitates mobilization and reduces chronic pain. The expertise of well-trained anaesthesiologists in skillfully using regional analgesia and pharmacological pain relief continues to be in demand in palliative care. Some interventional techniques are useful in relieving chronic non-cancer pain in selected patients. Well-trained anaesthesiologist-pain clinicians can perform interventional treatments safely. No doubt, anaesthesiologists will continue to have important roles in pain management in the future.