Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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To determine the prevalence of chronic pain, its causes, severity, management, impact on sleep, mood and activity levels, and general practitioner (GP) and patient satisfaction with pain management. ⋯ Chronic pain impairs patient quality of life, and is a public health burden. This study provides a national overview of the prevalence, causes, severity, management and impact of chronic pain in Australian general practice patients, and the parity between GP and patient satisfaction with pain management.
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Observational Study
Dose patterns among patients using low-dose buprenorphine patches.
The objective of this study was to investigate the dose pattern of low-dose buprenorphine patches among patients in Swedish clinical practice. The clinical experts among the coauthors interpreted the results in relation to possible indications of development of tolerance and/or dependence/addiction. ⋯ The average dose increased by 4 μg/h during the patients' treatment course, which lasted on an average of 260 days. From a clinical perspective, the dose increase of 4 μg/h is low and does not suggest dependence/addiction, as also supported by the low proportion of patients remaining on continuous treatment.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Longitudinal observation of treatment patterns and outcomes for patients with fibromyalgia: 12-month findings from the reflections study.
To describe 12-month treatment patterns and outcomes for patients starting a new medication for fibromyalgia in routine clinical practice. ⋯ In this real-world setting, patients with fibromyalgia reported modest improvements, high resource, and medication use, and were satisfied with the care they received. Cohort differences were difficult to discern because of the high rates of drug discontinuation and concomitant medication use over the 12-month study period.
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The study aims to determine the prevalence of undiagnosed comorbid mood disorders in patients suffering chronic musculoskeletal pain in a primary care setting and to identify sleep disturbances and other associated factors in these patients, and to compare the use of health services by chronic musculoskeletal pain patients with and without comorbid mood disorders. ⋯ The prevalence of undiagnosed mood disorders in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain is very high in primary care settings. Our findings suggest that greater attention should be paid to this condition in general practice and that sleep disorders should be evaluated in greater detail to achieve accurate diagnoses and select the most appropriate treatment.