Role of musculoskeletal disorders as concurrent chronic conditions: are they underestimated in the discharge?

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Differences in recording concurrent chronic conditions (CCs) could change the weight of the influence of the different CCs on health status. OBJECTIVES: To determine the role of musculoskeletal disorders as concurrent CCs. METHODS: Cross-sectional study. Discharged patients with CCs were selected by random stratification. Sociodemographic and clinical variables, health status (SF-36), type and number of self-reported and hospital discharge summary CCs were recorded. Relationships were analyzed using linear regression models. RESULTS: In the 227 patients included, mean self-reported CCs were 6.22 (SD 3.37) and mean hospital discharge CCs were 3.1 (SD 1.95). The most-frequent self-reported CCs were hypertension 48.4%, back pain 40.4%, neck pain 39.6%, and musculoskeletal disorders 38.4%. The most frequent discharge CCs were arterial hypertensive disease 38.3%, all cancers 22.0%, ischemic heart diseases, and angina 15.9%. Musculoskeletal disorders had the greatest negative influence on SF-36 dimensions (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Musculoskeletal disorders were underestimated in the discharge summary in comparison with those reported by patients.