Methods: From November 2005 to July 2006, we monitored the quality of IPMPs in a private pain practice in North Florida. Questionnaires regarding degree of pain relief, patient satisfaction and complications were handed to patients immediately after finishing of each IPMP. Patients were also followed by a phone call the day after the IPMPs.

Results: A total of 771 (male: 249, female: 522) patients with a mean age of 58.1 years participated in the study. Office-based IPMPs included lumbar and cervical epidural steroid injections, lumbar and cervical facet joint blocks, selective nerve root blocks, lumbar and cervical sympathetic nerve blocks, sacroiliac joint injection and large joint injections. 90.8% patients (700) reported various degree of pain relief immediately following IPMPs. Average pain score decreased by 4.3 on a 0 to 10 scale (p=<0.001). 89.7 % (692) patients were satisfied or very satisfied with the results of the IPMPs. 62 patients (8%) developed headache, which lasted from 30 minutes to four days. None of these patients required a blood patch. Five patients developed vasovagal responses during the IPMPs with the heart rate decreased to <50/min, BP <90/60mmHg. IPMPs were aborted immediately. All of these patients recovered within few minutes uneventfully. No other serious adverse events were reported.

Discussion: The results of the current study suggest that high quality private interventional pain programs with high efficacy, high patient satisfaction, and low complication rate can be achieved through appropriate staff training, proper monitoring of patients during the IPMPs and adequate handling of patients after the IPMPs.