Self-Medication With Over-the-Counter Analgesics: A Survey of Patient Characteristics and Concerns About Pain Medication

Autor: Els Mehuys, Koen Boussery, Els Adriaens, Geert Crombez, Sophie Demarche, Thierry Christiaens, Jean Paul Remon, Lucas Van Bortel, Thierry Van Hees, Inge Van Tongelen, Koen Paemeleire
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Male
Social Sciences
Osteoarthritis
Self Medication
0302 clinical medicine
HEADACHE
Belgium
030202 anesthesiology
Medicine and Health Sciences
media_common
Aged
80 and over
education.field_of_study
Analgesics
COST
Middle Aged
self-medication
PREVALENCE
MIGRAINE
Neurology
Over-the-counter
Female
over-the-counter analgesics
Self-medication
medicine.drug
Adult
medicine.medical_specialty
media_common.quotation_subject
Population
Pain
Nonprescription Drugs
03 medical and health sciences
Young Adult
medicine
community pharmacy
Humans
education
Aged
Pharmacies
business.industry
Addiction
medicine.disease
Acetaminophen
Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
Cross-Sectional Studies
Migraine
PATTERNS
Physical therapy
Observational study
Neurology (clinical)
ACETAMINOPHEN
business
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Zdroj: JOURNAL OF PAIN
ISSN: 1528-8447
1526-5900
Popis: Pain is a common reason for self-medication with over-the-counter (OTC) analgesics. However, this self-treating population has remained largely uncharacterized. This cross-sectional observational study investigated individuals who self-medicate their pain with OTC analgesics to elucidate their pain characteristics and medication use. In addition, presence of and risk factors for concerns about pain medication were examined. The clinical profile of the participants (n = 1,889) was worse than expected with long-standing pain complaints (median pain duration of 9 years), pain located at multiple body sites (median of 4, and 13% with ≥10 painful body areas), about one-third suffering from daily pain and about 40% experiencing substantial pain-related disability. Head (58.6% of sample), low back (43.6%), and neck (30.7%) were the most common pain locations. About 73% had a physician diagnosis, mainly migraine and osteoarthritis. Paracetamol (used by 68.6% of patients) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (46.8%) were the most frequently used pain medications. About 40% of our sample showed substantial concern about the perceived need for pain medication and the perceived potential for harmful effects (eg, fear for addiction). These findings highlight the importance for health professionals to systematically probe pain patients about their self-medication practices and explore attitudes about pain medication. Perspective: This study found that the clinical picture of people who self-medicate their pain with OTC analgesics looked worse than expected. We also identified substantial concerns about pain medication. Therefore, we recommend that health professionals systematically probe pain patients about their self-medication practices and explore concerns about pain medication.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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