The name PIRA is an acronym for PAIN, INTERVENTIONS and REGIONAL ANALGESIA. The PIRA CONGRESS seeks to address the inadequate teaching and training in pain in general in South Africa both Interventional and non-interventional. The treatment of pain, acute and chronic is a multimodal approach and no one treatment is a magic wand that is successful for all types of pain. Eventually, in every multimodal regimen it becomes preferable that some form of INTERVENTION be performed on the patient to either control or cure their pain.
INTERVENTIONS exist for both chronic pain and acute pain in the form of regional analgesia. All interventions require a certain amount of theoretical knowledge, technical skill and operator experience in order to be both effective and, more importantly, safe.
Training in these INTERVENTIONS and maintenance of standards in the performing of these INTERVENTIONS in South Africa is minimal to non-existent. This is keeping a very valuable therapeutic option form our patients, keeping us behind the rest of the civilised world.
