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Pain in ambulatory HIV‐infected patients with and without intravenous drug use
Author(s) -
Martin Claes,
Pehrsson PehrOlov,
Österberg Anders,
Sönnerborg Anders,
Hansson Per
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
european journal of pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.305
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1532-2149
pISSN - 1090-3801
DOI - 10.1053/eujp.1999.0111
Subject(s) - medicine , asymptomatic , ambulatory , intravenous drug , disease , drug , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , viral disease , immunology , psychiatry
The prevalence of pain in 211 HIV‐infected patients with and without intravenous drug use was assessed and the prognostic information inherent in pain reporting was evaluated, using a questionnaire on pain and HIV‐related symptoms combined with data on disease classification, route of HIV transmission, CD4+ lymphocyte counts in blood (CD4) and mortality rates at 15 months after completing the questionnaire. The pain prevalence was significantly higher among intravenous drug users (IDUs) compared with non‐IDUs [76/89 (85%) vs 87/122 (71%); p <0.05], especially among the patients classified as asymptomatic [43/53 (81%) vs 35/59 (59%); p = 0.01]. No significant difference was found among AIDS patients. In non‐IDUs, a strong correlation was found between HIV disease stages according to the Centers for Disease Control classification (CDC) and pain prevalence (CDC A: 59% vs B: 74% vs C: 96%, p <0.001), and between the number of concurrent pain sites and both the CD4 levels (no pains: CD4 0.26 × 10 9 /l vs 1–2 pain sites: CD4 0.22 vs >2 pain sites: CD4 0.09; r = 0.35, p <0.001), and the mortality rate [no pains: 2/35 (6%) vs 1–2 pain sites: 8/45 (18%) vs > 2 pain sites: 12/42 (29%), p <0.01]. In IDUs, no such correlations were found. Our data demonstrates differences in the development, prevalence and prognostic value of pain among HIV‐infected patients, with and without intravenous drug use, clearly indicating the need to differentiate risk groups in pain related studies.