ABSTRACT
Therapy of chronic rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) needs a comprehensive approach to the patient, based on the control of pain and improvement in overall condition, which affects the quality-of-life. This requires optimizing the treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or analgesics and control of adverse drug reactions. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pain pharmacotherapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis treated as the basic pharmacotherapy-biological drugs, the analysis of awareness of pharmacovigilance and evaluation of analgesic treatment costs. Material and methods. Examined group consisted of 102 people with RA or AS received biological therapy. Test method was questionnaire with closed and open questions. Results. 86.2% of respondents used a pain medication (41%--an ad hoc basis, but 23%--at least once a day), while 79.4%--NSAIDs (33%--an ad hoc basis and 17%--at least once a day). In 85.3% of those not observed adverse effects of pain pharmacotherapy. 5 persons declared abdominal pain. Most of the patients complied with the recommendations of the doctor in the pain treatment. For the third respondents the cost of pharmacotherapy of pain was monthly 1-10 zl, but 6% of patients paying for drugs from 50-60 and above 60 zl monthly. Conclusions. Biological treatment in RA and AS is effective but requires additional analgesic therapy. Adverse effects seen during pharmacological treatment of chronic pain in rheumatic diseases are, in practice sporadic. Therapeutic patient education with chronic diseases is proper. Costs borne by the patient's pain relief in this group are not too high.
