RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to estimate the total healthcare costs associated with elderly chronic pain (CP) patients, define cost-related factors in this population, and examine cost evolution over two years. METHOD: This is an ancillary study from the CP S.AGE subcohort, including non-institutionalized patients aged over 65 suffering from CP. 1190, 1108, 1042, and 950 patients were reviewed with available healthcare data at follow-up visits at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months, respectively. Healthcare components included medical and paramedical visits, medication prescription, and hospitalization. RESULT: The mean total cost in the first semester was estimated at
Asunto(s)
Dolor Crónico/economía , Costos de la Atención en Salud , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Dolor Crónico/tratamiento farmacológico , Femenino , Hospitalización/economía , Humanos , Masculino , Atención Primaria de Salud/economíaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The aim was to identify fall predictors in elderly suffering from chronic pain (CP) and to test their applicability among patients with other chronic conditions. METHODS: 1,379 non-institutionalized patients aged 65 years and older who were suffering from CP (S.AGE CP sub-cohort) were monitored every 6 months for 1 year. Socio-demographic, clinical and pain data and medication use were assessed at baseline for the association with falls in the following year. Falls were assessed retrospectively at each study visit. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify fall predictors. The derived model was applied to two additional S.AGE sub-cohorts: atrial fibrillation (AF) (n = 1,072) and type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (n = 983). RESULTS: Four factors predicted falls in the CP sub-cohort: fall history (OR: 4.03, 95 % CI 2.79-5.82), dependency in daily activities (OR: 1.81, 95 % CI 1.27-2.59), age ≥75 (OR: 1.53, 95 % CI 1.04-2.25) and living alone (OR: 1.73, 95 % CI 1.24-2.41) (Area Under the Curve: AUC = 0.71, 95 % CI 0.67-0.75). These factors were relevant in AF (AUC = 0.71, 95 % CI 0.66-0.75) and T2DM (AUC = 0.67, 95 % CI 0.59-0.73) sub-cohorts. Fall predicted probability in CP, AF and T2DM sub-cohorts increased from 7, 7 and 6 % in patients with no risk factors to 59, 66 and 45 % respectively, in those with the four predictors. Fall history was the strongest predictor in the three sub-cohorts. CONCLUSION: Fall history, dependency in daily activities, age ≥75 and living alone are independent fall predictors in CP, AF and T2DM patients.
Asunto(s)
Accidentes por Caídas , Fibrilación Atrial/epidemiología , Dolor Crónico , Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2/epidemiología , Accidentes por Caídas/prevención & control , Accidentes por Caídas/estadística & datos numéricos , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Causalidad , Dolor Crónico/diagnóstico , Dolor Crónico/epidemiología , Femenino , Estudios de Seguimiento , Francia/epidemiología , Evaluación Geriátrica/métodos , Humanos , Masculino , Pronóstico , Estudios Retrospectivos , Medición de Riesgo , Factores de RiesgoRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between general practitioner (GP) gender and prescribing practice of chronic pain drugs in older adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: GPs in private practice throughout France. SUBJECTS: Two hundred and sixty GPs (80.8% male and 19.2% female) enrolled 1,379 (28.4% male and 71.6% female) noninstitutionalized patients over 65 years of age, suffering from chronic pain. METHODS: A comparison of prescribing habits between male and female GPs was performed on baseline data with univariate analyses followed by multivariate analyses after taking several confounding factors into account. RESULTS: No significant differences were found when comparing male and female GPs' prescriptions of World Health Organization step 1, step 2, and step 3 analgesics. Male GPs were more likely than female GPs to prescribe antineuropathic pain drugs (11.3% of patients with male GPs versus 4.8% of patients with female GPs, P = 0.004) and less likely to prescribe symptomatic slow-acting drugs for osteoarthritis (SySADOA) (10.2% of male GPs' patients versus 18.8% of female GPs' patients, P = 0.0003). After adjusting for several confounding factors, male GPs were still more likely to prescribe antineuropathic pain drugs (OR 2.43, 95% CI 1.15-5.14, P = 0.02) and less likely to prescribe symptomatic slow-acting drugs (OR 0.64, 95% CI 0.42-0.97, P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Male and female GPs prescribe analgesics in a similar manner. However, male GPs prescribe more antineuropathic pain drugs, but fewer SySADOA.
Asunto(s)
Analgésicos/uso terapéutico , Dolor Crónico/tratamiento farmacológico , Manejo del Dolor/métodos , Pautas de la Práctica en Medicina/estadística & datos numéricos , Anciano , Estudios Transversales , Femenino , Médicos Generales , Humanos , MasculinoRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Describe the consequences of dextropropoxyphene (DXP) market withdrawal on analgesic prescriptions and on the quality of therapeutic management of chronic pain. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From a cohort of non-institutionalised elderly patients with chronic pain recruited by general practitioners, we selected patients who were treated with DXP daily for at least 6 months just prior to DXP market withdrawal and who had an evaluation of pain and its impact on daily activities before and after DXP withdrawal. RESULTS: One hundred three patients took DXP daily for chronic pain. Immediately after DXP market withdrawal, 42 (40.8%), 55 (53.4%) and 3 (2.9%) patients were treated with step 1, 2 and 3 analgesics, respectively, and 3 patients (2.9%) were no longer receiving any analgesic medication. Among the 55 patients who continued on step 2 analgesics, 37 were treated with tramadol, 14 with codeine and 9 with opium. Pain intensity and the impact of pain on daily activities remained stable. CONCLUSION: DXP market withdrawal had no consequences on the intensity or impact of chronic pain in elderly patients.