Healthcare professionals' agreement on clinical relevance of drug-related problems among elderly patients.

Background Disagreement among healthcare professionals on the clinical relevance of drug-related problems can lead to suboptimal treatment and increased healthcare costs. Elderly patients with chronic non-cancer pain and comorbidity are at increased risk of drug related problems compared to other patient groups due to complex medication regimes and transition of care. Objective To investigate the agreement among healthcare professionals on their classification of clinical relevance of drug-related problems in elderly patients with chronic non-cancer pain and comorbidity. Setting Multidisciplinary Pain Centre, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. Method A pharmacist performed medication review on elderly patients with chronic non-cancer pain and comorbidity, identified their drug-related problems and classified these problems in accordance with an existing categorization system. A five-member clinical panel rated the drug-related problems' clinical relevance in accordance with a five-level rating scale, and their agreement was compared using Fleiss' κ. Main outcome measure Healthcare professionals' agreement on clinical relevance of drug related problems, using Fleiss' κ. Results Thirty patients were included in the study. A total of 162 drug related problems were identified, out of which 54% were of lower clinical relevance (level 0-2) and 46% of higher clinical relevance (level 3-4). Only slight agreement (κ = 0.12) was found between the panellists' classifications of clinical relevance using a five-level rating scale. Conclusion The clinical pharmacist identified drug related problems of lower and higher clinical relevance. Poor overall agreement on the severity of the drug related problems was found among the panelists.

[Multidisciplinary and cross-sectorial treatment of patients with complex regional pain syndrome]. / Tværfaglig og tværsektoriel håndtering af patienter med komplekst regionalt smertesyndrom.

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a complex, painful, debilitating disease which occurs after trauma or surgery mainly in the wrists with a variation of 5.5-26.2 at 100,000 inhabitants in international studies. In Denmark the prevalence is unknown, and it is perceived that many patients with CRPS are diagnosed late in their illness. There is international consensus on diagnostic criteria and early identification. Evidence for treatment is weak, but there are good experiences with highly specialized multidisciplinary treatment. A national clinical guideline is required.

Switching from high doses of pure µ-opioid agonists to transdermal buprenorphine in patients with cancer: a feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: Several myths on buprenorphine's pharmacology exist: possible analgesic ceiling effect, feasibility of combination with other opioid agonists, and the reversibility of side effects. Aim to evaluate: 1) if cancer patients receiving high doses of pure agonists could obtain adequate pain relief after switching to transdermal (TD) buprenorphine and 2) whether the numbers of breakthrough pain episodes after switching increased and whether they could be treated with the same doses of pure agonist as before switching. DESIGN: The prospective open multicenter study included outpatients with moderate-to-severe cancer pain satisfactorily controlled. SETTING: Patients were switched from the usual pure agonist to TD buprenorphine and were titrated to a stable dose. The assessments were: 1) daily self-assessment of pain intensity, numbers of rescue medications, and pain interference with sleep; 2) brief pain inventory; 3) pain relief and pain intensity; 4) quality of life; and 5) adverse events and symptoms. RESULTS: Eighteen patients receiving 150-516 mg of morphine/day were included. The buprenorphine dose at the end of the study varied between 52.5 and 140 µg/h. No difference in pain before and after switching was shown. The level of rescue doses was maintained. The patches were well tolerated. A significant decrease in fatigue and an increase in global health status were seen after the switch. CONCLUSION: It is feasible to switch cancer patients from high doses of pure µ-opioid agonists to TD buprenorphine without eliciting any antagonist effects, but the dose conversion factor is individual and the switching process should be tailored for the individual patient.

Classification and identification of opioid addiction in chronic pain patients.

Addiction is a feared consequence of long-term opioid treatment of chronic pain patients. The ICD-10 and DSM-IV diagnostic addiction criteria may not be appropriate in these patients. Therefore Portenoy's criteria (PC) were launched. The aim was to estimate the prevalence of addiction, to investigate whether PC were applicable and to compare these criteria with the ICD-10 criteria. The study was cross-sectional and included 253 patients with chronic pain at a tertiary pain centre. Patients were screened for addiction by a physician and a nurse. The addiction prevalence was 14.4% according to ICD-10 and 19.3% according to PC. A significant difference between the prevalence of addiction according to ICD-10 and to PC was found. The inter-rater reliability was 0.95 for ICD-10 and 0.93 for PC. The sensitivity of PC was 0.85 and the specificity was 0.96. According to PC patients classified as addicted were treated with significantly higher opioid doses, drank more alcohol, smoked more tobacco, used benzodiazepines and had higher levels of depression. According to ICD-10 patients classified as addicted used higher doses of opioids, drank more alcohol and had higher scores of anxiety and depression. High opioid doses, concomitant use of alcohol and younger age were risk factors. The risk profile for PC was different to ICD-10 by adding risk factors as concomitant use of benzodiazepines, having depression and low educational level. PC seems to be appropriate for diagnosing addiction in opioid treated pain patients and seems to be more sensitive and specific than ICD-10 criteria.

Prehabilitation and early rehabilitation after spinal surgery: randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcome after spinal surgery when adding prehabilitation to the early rehabilitation. DESIGN: A randomized clinical study. SETTING: Orthopaedic surgery department. SUBJECT: Sixty patients scheduled for surgery followed by inpatient rehabilitation for degenerative lumbar disease. INTERVENTIONS: The patients were computer randomized to prehabilitation and early rehabilitation (28 patients) or to standard care exclusively (32 patients). The intervention began two months prior to the operation. The prehabilitation included an intensive exercise programme and optimization of the analgesic treatment. Protein drinks were given the day before surgery. The early postoperative rehabilitation included balanced pain therapy with self-administered epidural analgesia, doubled intensified mobilization and protein supplements. MAIN MEASURES: The outcome measurements were postoperative stay, complications, functionality, pain and satisfaction. RESULTS: At operation the intervention group had improved function, assessed by Roland Morris Questionnaire (P = 0.001). After surgery the intervention group reached the recovery milestones faster than the control group (1-6 days versus 3-13, P =0.001), and left hospital earlier (5 (3-9) versus 7 (5-15) days, P =0.007). There was no difference in postoperative complications, adverse events, low back pain and radiating pain, timed up and go, sit-to-stand or in life quality. Patient satisfaction was significantly higher in the intervention group compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: The integrated programme of prehabilitation and early rehabilitation improved the outcome and shortened the hospital stay - without more complications, pain or dissatisfaction.

Costs and quality of life for prehabilitation and early rehabilitation after surgery of the lumbar spine.

UNLABELLED: During the recent years improved operation techniques and administrative procedures have been developed for early rehabilitation. At the same time preoperative lifestyle intervention (prehabilitation) has revealed a large potential for additional risk reduction. The aim was to assess the quality of life and to estimate the cost-effectiveness of standard care versus an integrated programme including prehabilitation and early rehabilitation. METHODS: The analyses were based on the results from 60 patients undergoing lumbar fusion for degenerative lumbar disease; 28 patients were randomised to the integrated programme and 32 to the standard care programme. Data on cost and health related quality of life was collected preoperatively, during hospitalisation and postoperatively. The cost was estimated from multiplication of the resource consumption and price per unit. RESULTS: Overall there was no difference in health related quality of life scores. The patients from the integrated programme obtained their postoperative milestones sooner, returned to work and soaked less primary care after discharge. The integrated programme was 1,625 euros (direct costs 494 euros + indirect costs 1,131 euros) less costly per patient compared to the standard care programme. CONCLUSION: The integrated programme of prehabilitation and early rehabilitation in spine surgery is more cost-effective compared to standard care programme alone.

High incidence of chronic pain following surgery for pelvic fracture.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of chronic pain after surgery for pelvic fracture using a strict definition and measures of intensity and health-related quality of life. METHODS: In April 2004, a questionnaire was sent to 221 patients who underwent surgery for pelvic fracture in the period 1996 to 2000. Chronic pain was defined as pain at present that related back to the pelvic fracture and was not a consequence of other disease. Health-related quality of life was measured using the 15D questionnaire. RESULTS: The response rate was 72.9% after a median follow-up of 5.6 years. Chronic pain was seen in 48.4% (95% confidence interval, 40.7%-56.2%). These patients had a combination of somatic nociceptive, visceral nociceptive, and neuropathic pain and had significantly lower health-related quality of life. Also, the use of opioids (14.1% vs. 4.8%) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories/paracetamol (57.7% vs. 21.7%), the request for financial compensation (75.6% vs. 45.8%), and complications related to leg function (62.8% vs. 20.5%) were significantly higher in the group with chronic pain than in the group without chronic pain. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic pain after pelvic fracture is a major problem that affects a patient's quality of life. The use of analgesics was higher in these patients, and they had more complications. Chronic pain after surgery for pelvic fracture deserves more attention.