Chronic pain: long and inappropriate use of anti-inflammatories

Therapeutic appropriateness must be adequately checked and strengthened. Fimp and Fimmg, which represent family paediatricians and general practitioners, spoke about this during the recent Risk Management Forum in Arezzo, during which, in an event organised in collaboration with Angelini, the Italian physicians revealed the data on inappropriate use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs highlighted by the recent Osmed report.

In Italy, chronic pain affects about 13 million people, almost 20 per cent of the population, with strong repercussions in the health sector, significantly compromising the quality of life, generating social and work isolation, as well as determining a significant economic burden both for the individual and for the health system, causing absenteeism and a drop in productivity.

The management of these patients therefore requires an integrated multidisciplinary approach, involving the general practitioner, the specialist, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists and occupational therapists. Pain therapy networks have existed in Italy for years, structures that are still inadequate due to a lack of resources.

It is precisely for this reason that the Ministry of Health has issued Guidelines on the treatment of chronic non-oncological pain, reiterating the need to ensure access to care through the strengthening of networks and continuity of care between territory and hospital.

Antonio D'Avino, Fimp president, also gave concrete operational indications on the management of childhood illnesses, also to avoid the often unnecessary presence in emergency rooms: 'When a fever rises,' he explained, 'the first thing to bear in mind is that in children it is often a natural defence response. That is why there is no need to bring it down if the little one, on the whole, is well enough. More than the number we read on the thermometer, the child's behaviour counts: if he is alert, lets himself be comforted, drinks and perhaps plays, even a high fever can be tolerated. If, on the other hand, the fever is very high and the child appears in pain or very dejected, it is a good idea to administer the antipyretic drugs recommended for paediatric use. If the fever persists for more than two or three days and tends to worsen instead of improving, it is right to speak to the paediatrician who can indicate the most appropriate course of action'.