Uncontrolled chronic pain: can a pain consultation in primary care be a solution?

Autores

  • Bruno Ferreira Pedrosa Médico de Medicina Geral e Familiar. USF da Ramada, ULS de Loures-Odivelas. Ramada, Portugal.
  • Marília Martins Médica de Medicina Geral e Familiar. UCSP de Caneças e Famões, ULS de Loures-Odivelas. Famões, Portugal.
  • Catarina Santos Médica de Medicina Geral e Familiar. USF da Ramada, ULS de Loures-Odivelas. Ramada, Portugal.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32385/rpmgf.v40i5.13890

Palavras-chave:

Chronic pain, Primary health care, Pain management

Resumo

Chronic pain is one of the most frequent medical problems in Portuguese primary health care. These patients significantly show poorer functioning capabilities and quality of life than the general population. The importance of improving the quality of life in patients suffering from chronic pain is paramount, and a holistic approach must be implemented. However, proper pain evaluation and management may be time-consuming in a routine primary health care consultation. Given the significant impact of this disease, we initiated a dedicated consultation for patients with chronic pain in our primary health care unit. A complete evaluation is performed, and, among other questionaries, the Brief Pain Inventory is applied to evaluate pain impact on functioning at the first appointment and re-evaluated after six months of follow-up. In the first six months, 31 patients with uncontrolled pain were referred by their family physicians to this consultation. Non-pharmacological strategies were strongly recommended alongside pharmacological therapies. Although this consultation is relatively recent, our patients with longer follow-ups showed improvement in both maximum and minimum pain levels and substantial improvement in all the measured interferences in the Brief Pain Inventory. Even though there is literature that thoroughly describes the impact of pain on patients’ quality of life, there is much to be done to change this problem. Since family physicians know their patients and their contexts well, they are in a privileged position to manage this problem, and a specific pain consultation in primary health care can be one of the best services for managing pain.

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Biografia do Autor

  • Bruno Ferreira Pedrosa, Médico de Medicina Geral e Familiar. USF da Ramada, ULS de Loures-Odivelas. Ramada, Portugal.

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Referências

1. Antunes F, Pereira RM, Afonso V, Tinoco R. Prevalence and characteristics of chronic pain among patients in Portuguese primary care units. Pain Ther. 2021;10(2):1427-37.

2. Azevedo LF, Costa-Pereira A, Mendonça L, Dias CC, Castro-Lopes JM. Epidemiology of chronic pain: a population-based nationwide study on its prevalence, characteristics and associated disability in Portugal. J Pain. 2012;13(8):773-83.

3. Hadi MA, McHugh GA, Closs SJ. Impact of chronic pain on patients’ quality of life: a comparative mixed-methods study. J Patient Exp. 2019;6(2):133-41.

4. Magalhães AR, Peixoto A, Teixeira PM. Dor crónica multifatorial e a abordagem holística do médico de família: a propósito de um caso clínico [Multifactorial chronic pain and the holistic approach of the general practitioner: about a clinical case]. Rev Port Med Geral Fam. 2020;36(5):425-9. Portuguese

5. Torres JL, Silva SL, Ferreira FR, Mendes LP, Machado LA. Chronic pain is associated with increased health care use among community-dwelling older adults in Brazil: the Pain in the Elderly (PAINEL) Study. Fam Pract. 2019;36(5):594-9.

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Publicado

06-11-2024

Como Citar

Uncontrolled chronic pain: can a pain consultation in primary care be a solution?. (2024). Revista Portuguesa De Medicina Geral E Familiar, 40(5), 521-3. https://doi.org/10.32385/rpmgf.v40i5.13890

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