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. 2011 Nov;12(11):1628-36.
doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2011.01249.x. Epub 2011 Oct 12.

Analgesic use for knee and hip osteoarthritis in community-dwelling elders

Zachary A Marcum  1 , Subashan Perera, Julie M Donohue, Robert M Boudreau, Anne B Newman, Christine M Ruby, Stephanie A Studenski, C Kent Kwoh, Eleanor M Simonsick, Doug C Bauer, Suzanne Satterfield, Joseph T Hanlon; Health, Aging and Body Composition Study
Affiliations

Analgesic use for knee and hip osteoarthritis in community-dwelling elders

Zachary A Marcum et al. Pain Med. 2011 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the prevalence and correlates of non-opioid and opioid analgesic use and descriptively evaluate potential undertreatment in a sample of community-dwelling elders with symptomatic knee and/or hip osteoarthritis (OA).

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study.

Patients: Six hundred and fifty-two participants attending the year 6 visit (2002-03) with symptomatic knee and/or hip OA.

Outcome measures: Analgesic use was defined as taking ≥1 non-opioid and/or ≥1 opioid receptor agonist. Non-opioid and opioid doses were standardized across all agents by dividing the daily dose used by the minimum effective analgesic daily dose. Inadequate pain control was defined as severe/extreme OA pain in the past 30 days from a modified Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index.

Results: Just over half (51.4%) reported taking at least one non-opioid analgesic and approximately 10% was taking an opioid, most (88.5%) of whom also took a non-opioid. One in five participants (19.3%) had inadequate pain control, 39% of whom were using <1 standardized daily dose of either a non-opioid or opioid analgesic. In adjusted analyses, severe/extreme OA pain was significantly associated with both non-opioid (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.44; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 1.49-3.99) and opioid (AOR = 2.64; 95% CI = 1.26-5.53) use.

Conclusions: Although older adults with severe/extreme knee and/or hip OA pain are more likely to take analgesics than those with less severe pain, a sizable proportion takes less than therapeutic doses and thus may be undertreated. Further research is needed to examine barriers to optimal analgesic use.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors has any relevant conflict of interest/financial disclosures.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Use of Non-opioids and Opioids by Standardized Daily Dose among those with Severe/Extreme Osteoarthritis Pain
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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