J Korean Soc Spine Surg.  2017 Jun;24(2):65-71. 10.4184/jkss.2017.24.2.65.

Changes in Perceptions of Narcotic Analgesic Treatment and Quality of Life in Chronic Back Pain Patients

• Kim MW
• Kim CY
• Lee JW
• Kim CH
• Oh JS
• Choi YS

• KMID: 2385641
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4184/jkss.2017.24.2.65

Abstract

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study.
OBJECTIVES
This study was conducted to investigate changes in perceptions of treatment using narcotic analgesics and quality of life in chronic back pain patients. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Negative perceptions of narcotic analgesics as pain killers have been established as factors affecting compliance and adherence.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 140 patients who had chronic back pain for over 3 months were examined using clinical scales such as the Korean version of the Oswestry Disability Index (KODI), the Short Form-12 (SF-12), and a visual analog scale (VAS). The survey regarding narcotic analgesics classified patients as having positive perceptions if they reported absolutely not wanting to use them or being unlikely to use them at the primary interview and after 4 weeks of treatment.
RESULTS
Ninety-four patients (68%) reported negative perceptions of narcotic analgesics at the primary interview. Sixty-one of those patients (64%) changed their perceptions, reporting positive perceptions after 4 weeks of treatment, as indicated by the ODI (p=0.01), SF-12 (p=0.01), and VAS (p=0.01) scores. A change from positive to negative perceptions after 4 weeks of treatment was observed in 13 patients (28%) who experienced adverse effects of narcotics treatment (p=0.01). Among the 33 patients (23%) whose negative perceptions did not change, dissatisfaction with previous treatment was found to be a contributing factor in 22 (66%).
CONCLUSIONS
Clinical improvements after treatment using narcotic analgesics in chronic back pain patients resulted in a significant positive impact on perceptions about narcotic analgesics. Narcotic analgesics could be an alternative treatment choice in chronic back pain patients because of improvements in their quality of life.

Keyword

Lumbar; Chronic pain; Narcotic analgesics

MeSH Terms

Back Pain*
Chronic Pain
Compliance
Humans
Narcotics
Prospective Studies
Quality of Life*
Visual Analog Scale
Weights and Measures
Narcotics

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Changes in perceptions of narcotic analgesics between the pri-mary interview and after 4 weeks of treatment. There were 94 patients (68%) with negative perceptions of narcotic analgesics at the primary, premedication interview. Sixty-one patients (64%) reported a change from a negative perception to a positive perception after 4 weeks of treatment. P, positive perception; N, negative perception. The light gray portion of the bar graph indicates positive perceptions at the primary interview. The dark gray portion of the bar graph indicates negative perceptions at the primary interview.

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