Abstract
PURPOSE: The objective is to study the assessment of pain severity, following the conventional family physician routines, in patients with peripheral osteoarthritis. METHODS: The patient's perception of pain and the physician's assessment of the pain were measured by means of questionnaires and were compared in a study population of 198 patients with osteoarthritis. RESULTS: A rather low association was found between a patient's perception of pain and the physician's assessment of pain. CONCLUSIONS: It is an accepted fact that too much treatment can have undesirable effects, and that inadequate management of symptoms seems to be associated with a reduced quality of life in osteoarthritic patients. In the absence of a high correlation between patient's perception and physician's assessment of pain severity, it is concluded that a patients' pain questionnaire could be a very useful instrument for improving the care given to patients with osteoarthritis in family practice
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 40-45 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Arthritis Care Res. |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 0893-7524 (Print) |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 1994 |
Keywords
- Adult
- Aged
- 80 and over
- Attitude to Health
- Comparative Study
- Family
- Family Practice
- Female
- Humans
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Osteoarthritis
- Pain
- Pain Measurement
- Patients
- Quality of Life
- Questionnaires
- Severity of Illness Index
- complications
- diagnosis
- etiology
- methods
- psychology