Health economic and societal consequences of pain
Ceri J Phillips
pp 1-2
‘Chronic pain is common – but it isn’t sexy’ – the nature of pain has puzzled humanity for centuries. It represents a major clinical, social, and economic problem, which has exercised generations of healthcare professionals across many continents as they attempt to provide relief to reduce the suffering caused by pain.
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The cost impact of NSAID-induced gastrointestinal adverse events
Jonathan Belsey
pp 3-11
The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is well established in UK practice for both the acute and chronic management of pain due to injury and degenerative and inflammatory diseases. Although simple analgesics and topical NSAIDs are generally considered to be the first-line treatment of choice, for many patients these options prove inadequate and oral NSAIDs are added to, or substituted for, these first-line options.
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Treating gout: a clinical update
Claire Wenham and Philip Conaghan
pp 4-6
Acute gout remains one of the most painful rheumatic conditions and is the most common cause of an acute, monoarticular arthritis. The main aim of treatment is to provide rapid and effective pain relief of the acute episode, followed by long-term prevention of recurrence and associated joint damage. Gout also provides a signal to look at lifestyle and associated co-morbidities.
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Comment: What is the point of pain management?
Dominic Aldington
pp 5-5
So, here you are with the second issue of Managing pain in practice. The responses from the first issue were suitably encouraging with the only complaint I seemed to get being, ‘Why didn’t I get my own copy?’ This is the kind of problem publishers like and we will try to resolve it for future editions.
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Managing pain in older people
Helen Gaskell
pp 7-8
Pain is a significant issue for older people, their families and carers, and, hence, for the primary health care team (PHCT). Unfortunately, it is common, because it is associated with underlying conditions that are themselves common in this age group. However, co-morbidities and frailty can make diagnosis and treatment difficult. Pain in older people is known to be under-reported and difficulty in communication means there is considerable unmet need.
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Diagnosing, treating and managing the pain arising from osteoarthritis: part 2
John Dickson
pp 9-11
The first part of this article, featured in the previous issue, covered diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA) and the initial treatment methods that should be approached – namely, the adoption of a holistic treatment and the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). There are other treatment options to consider after these, however.
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