Pharmaceutical Care Unit.
Department of Experimental-Clinical and Health Psychology.
J Pain. 2019 Feb;20(2):215-223. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2018.09.003. Epub 2018 Sep 28.
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.
疼痛是人们使用非处方（OTC）镇痛药进行自我治疗的常见原因。然而，这一自我治疗人群在很大程度上仍未被描述。本横断面观察性研究调查了使用 OTC 镇痛药自我治疗疼痛的个体，以阐明他们的疼痛特征和药物使用情况。此外，还检查了对疼痛药物的关注的存在和危险因素。研究参与者（n=1889）的临床特征比预期的更差，他们有长期的疼痛主诉（中位数疼痛持续时间为 9 年）、多处身体部位疼痛（中位数 4 处，13%有≥10 个疼痛部位）、约三分之一的人每天都有疼痛，约 40%的人有严重的与疼痛相关的残疾。头部（58.6%的样本）、下背部（43.6%）和颈部（30.7%）是最常见的疼痛部位。约 73%的人有医生诊断，主要是偏头痛和骨关节炎。对乙酰氨基酚（68.6%的患者使用）和非甾体抗炎药（46.8%）是最常使用的止痛药。大约 40%的样本对疼痛药物的潜在需求和潜在的有害影响表示了相当大的关注（例如，担心成瘾）。这些发现强调了卫生专业人员系统询问疼痛患者自我用药情况并探讨他们对疼痛药物的态度的重要性。观点：本研究发现，使用 OTC 镇痛药自我治疗疼痛的患者的临床情况比预期的更差。我们还发现了对疼痛药物的相当大的担忧。因此，我们建议卫生专业人员系统地询问疼痛患者的自我用药情况，并探讨他们对疼痛药物的担忧。
