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BMC Primary Care
Published in: BMC Primary Care 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

A geriatric assessment in general practice: prevalence, location, impact and doctor-patient perceptions of pain

Authors: Carsten Kruschinski, Birgitt Wiese, Marie-Luise Dierks, Eva Hummers-Pradier, Nils Schneider, Ulrike Junius-Walker

Published in: BMC Primary Care | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

To investigate what a geriatric assessment in general practice adds towards previous findings of prevalence, location, impact and the dyadic doctor-patient perception of pain in this age group.

Methods

Cross-sectional study. Consecutive patients aged 70 and over underwent a comprehensive geriatric assessment in general practice that included a basic pain assessment (severity, sites and impact). Patients with pain and their doctors then independently rated its importance. Pain was correlated with further findings from the assessment, such as overall health, physical impairments, everyday function, falls, mood, health related lifestyle, social circumstances, using bivariate and multivariate statistics. Patient-doctor agreement on the importance of pain was calculated using kappa statistics.

Results

219 out of 297 patients (73.7 %) reported pain at any location. Pain was generally located at multiple sites. It was most often present at the knee (33.9 %), the lumbar spine (33.5 %) as well as the hip (13.8 %) and correlated with specific impairments such as restrictions of daily living (knee) or sleep problems (spine). Patients with pain and their physicians poorly agreed on the importance of the pain problem.

Conclusions

A basic pain assessment can identify older patients with pain in general practice. It has resulted in a high prevalence exceeding that determined by encounters in consultations. It has been shown that a geriatric assessment provides an opportunity to address pain in a way that is adapted to older patients’ needs – addressing all sites, its specific impact on life, and the patients’ perceived importance of pain. Since there is little doctor-patient agreement, this seems a valuable strategy to optimize concrete treatment decisions and patient centered care.

Trial registration

This study is registered in the German Clinical Trial Register (DRKS00000792)
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Metadata
Title
A geriatric assessment in general practice: prevalence, location, impact and doctor-patient perceptions of pain
Authors
Carsten Kruschinski
Birgitt Wiese
Marie-Luise Dierks
Eva Hummers-Pradier
Nils Schneider
Ulrike Junius-Walker
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Primary Care / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 2731-4553
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-016-0409-z

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