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Prescribing patterns and impact of therapy on quality of life in neuropathic pain
We recently conducted a survey of neuropathic pain patients which has provided several observations suggesting gaps in knowledge translation which adversely affect pain management. Firstly, we observed that relatively new drugs proven for the treatment of neuropathic pain are underused in clinical practice, possibly due to exaggerated patient and physician fears of drug addiction and adverse effects (Gilron, Bailey et al., 2002).
Also, despite growing evidence to support the utility of chronic opioid therapy for neuropathic pain, opioids appear to be underused for similar reasons (Gilron & Bailey, 2003). It is anticipated that these reports will lead to an increased awareness of therapeutic needs in neuropathic pain as well as further efforts to more effectively apply new knowledge to clinical management. Following this, we are now conducting secondary analyses of clinical trial data to evaluate the impact of pharmacological pain reduction on mood and quality of life (QOL) in neuropathic pain. Preliminary results indicate that pain reduction is positively correlated with improvement in mood/QOL suggesting that a clinically important treatment effect is needed in order to observe a significant improvement in mood/QOL. We are also investigating the impact of analgesic treatment-related adverse effects on mood/QOL.
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Prescribing patterns and impact of therapy on quality of life in neuropathic pain