Open AccessUse of a Medication Quantification Scale for Comparison of Pain Medication Usage in Patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome ( CRPS )
Author(s) -
Gallizzi Michael A.,
Khazai Ravand S.,
Gag Christine M.,
Bruehl Stephen,
Harden R. Norman
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
pain medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.893
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1526-4637
pISSN - 1526-2375
DOI - 10.1111/pme.12549
Subject(s) - medicine , complex regional pain syndrome , visual analogue scale , medical prescription , population , pain scale , polypharmacy , prospective cohort study , physical therapy , environmental health , pharmacology
Objective To correlate the amount and types of pain medications prescribed to CRPS patients, using the M edication Q uantification S cale, and patients' subjective pain levels. Design An international, multisite, retrospective review. Setting University medical centers in the U nited S tates, I srael, G ermany, and the N etherlands. Subjects/Methods A total of 89 subjects were enrolled from four different countries: 27 from the U nited S tates, 20 G ermany, 18 N etherlands, and 24 I srael. The main outcome measures used were the M edication Q uantification S cale III and numerical analog pain scale. Results There was no statistically significant correlation noted between the medication quantification scale and the visual analog scale for any site except for a moderate positive correlation at German sites. The medication quantification scale mean differences between the U nited S tates and G ermany, the N etherlands, and I srael were 9.793 ( P < 0.002), 10.389 ( P < 0.001), and 4.984 ( P = 0.303), respectively. Conclusions There appears to be only a weak correlation between amount of pain medication prescribed and patients' reported subjective pain intensity within this limited patient population. The Medication Quantification Scale is a viable tool for the analysis of pharmaceutical treatment of CRPS patients and would be useful in further prospective studies of pain medication prescription practices in the CRPS population worldwide.