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Trends in Chronic Pain
U.S. Pharmacist, 05/25/2010
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Pal S – Chronic pain affects 56 million adults. One–quarter of sufferers are treated for their chronic pain, whereas 40% do not seek professional assistance. The top disease–specific contributors to chronic pain are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and sickle–cell anemia. Over the last decade, sales of pain–management medications have steadily increased at the rate of 5% per year, and future sales will continue to increase as more of these drugs are available generically. One–quarter of nursing–home residents experience pain. Effective pain management enhances the quality of life of these patients, but, according to CDC analysis, 44% of nursing–home residents with pain had neither standing orders for pain medication nor appropriate pain management. Among residents with dementia and pain, nonwhites were more likely than whites to lack appropriate pain management, even though 17% and 24% of nonwhite and white residents, respectively, showed signs of pain. However, 56% of residents received appropriate pain–management therapies.
