Abstract
In January 2014, the Committee on Safety of the Japan Society of Pain Clinicians sent a questionnaire on pain-management-related adverse events (AEs) in 2013 to all 310 board-certified training facilities in Japan. Responses were received from 199 facilities (response rate 64 %). Similar to the results of the 2012 survey, most reported AEs were classified as side effects of analgesics/analgesic adjuvants or as complications of nerve blocks/interventional therapy. The following severe drug-associated side effects were reported: Stevens-Johnson syndrome induced by tramadol/acetaminophen; anaphylactic shock induced by antibiotics or muscle relaxants; and serotonin syndrome induced by tramadol or antidepressants. The specific AEs of nerve blocks/interventional therapy were as follows: pneumothorax after intercostal nerve block, celiac plexus block or suprascapular nerve block; subarachnoid injection or respiratory-circulatory failure induced by epidural block; and infection induced by nerve block. It is necessary to recognize the significance of these side effects and complications and to implement additional security measures for safer pain management.
