Schmerztherapeutische Bedarfsmedikation bei Attacken von familiärem Mittelmeerfieber

Clinical and psychological phenomenology of pain in autoinflammatory diseases

BACKGROUND

Pain is the clinical hallmark of patients in patients with autoinflammatory diseases (AID) caused by variants of the NLRP3-, MEFV- or TNFRSF1A gene. However, no systematical analysis of the clinical and psychological presentation of pain has been performed to date.

METHODS

Twenty-one symptomatic patients with variants in the NLRP3-, MEFV- and TNFRSF1A gene and clinical signs suggestive of an AID were retrospectively included in this monocentric cross-sectional case-series study. Patients were examined and interviewed using the German pain questionnaire. The hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) was applied to screen patients for anxiety and depression.

RESULTS

Twenty out of 21 AID patients (95%) reported pain at the time of examination. Mean current pain intensity in all AID patients comprised 3.6 ± 1.3 and mean maximum pain intensity was 7.0 ± 1.6 on a 11-point numeric ranging scale (NRS). In 15 patients (71%), pain was present for more than 60 months. Ten patients (48%) experienced recurrent attacks with asymptomatic intervals and 7 patients (33%) suffered from constant pain, while 4 patients (19%) experienced both. Nociceptive pain including musculoskeletal and visceral affection was the most prominent type of pain (n = 20; 95%). Pain symptoms were treated continuously with analgesic or co-analgesic drugs in 10 patients (48%). Five patients (24%) have been positively screened for concomitant depression or anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Early and prompt diagnosis is necessary to provide multimodal pain treatment and to avoid the development of chronic pain in patients with AID.

Joint pain epidemiology and analgesic usage in Madagascar

Introduction

To describe the epidemiology of joint pains and document analgesics usage in an African context.

Methods

Patients suffering from joint pain were recruited from nine sites located in Antananarivo, Madagascar, including 6 hospital services and 3 clinics. Doctors collected information on the etiology and characteristics of the patients’ pain. Analgesics prescribed by these doctors were also documented.

Results

In total, 400 patients were enrolled in the study (52.5% women, mean age of 42.34 years ± 17.7 [4-86]). Pain of mechanical type was found in 260 participants, 65%; 95% CI [60.1% to 69.6%] and inflammatory type pains in 128 cases 32%; 95% CI [27.5% to 36.9%]. Mixed pains were found in 12 patients (3%). The median duration of pain prior to the consultation was 6.5 days. The average pain intensity was 57.9 ± 19.9 mm of a total of 100 mm maximum on a visual analogue scale, VAS. The etiologies of mechanical type pains were dominated by fracture, common low back pain and tendonitis. Arthrosis was the dominant cause of inflammatory type pain, followed by rheumatoid arthritis and gout. NSAIDs (74.5%) were the most frequently prescribed analgesics followed by paracetamol (49.5%), weak opioids (23%) and corticosteroids (12.25%). Two-thirds of medical prescriptions (65.3%) were of combined analgesics.

Conclusion

These findings demonstrated that mechanical type pains were the main reason for consultations for joint pain in these situations in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The most frequently prescribed pain-relieving medications were NSAIDs, paracetamol, weak opioids and corticosteroids. This descriptive study may be a useful starting point for further epidemiological studies of pain in the African context.

Sonographic assessment of spleen size in Turkish migrants with Familial Mediterranean fever in Germany

OBJECTIVES

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) can be associated with splenomegaly. Prospective quantitative data are lacking. We performed a sonographic assessment of spleen size in patients with FMF and healthy control participants to assess its diagnostic value.

METHODS

Patients with FMF according to the criteria of Livneh et al (Arthritis Rheum 1997; 40:1879-1885) who were in an asymptomatic interval and control participants were prospectively included in this study in Germany and underwent sonographic measurement of the spleen as well as a structured interview and a physical examination. Patients and controls were Turkish migrants.

RESULTS

Thirty-six patients and 27 controls were included. Patients and controls did not differ significantly in age (mean ± SD, 34.8 ± 9.7 versus 33.3 ± 10.0 years, respectively; P = .56), sex, height, weight, or body mass index (26.7 ± 4.7 versus 26.1 ± 4.3 kg/m(2); P = .63). Spleen size was greater in patients than controls in width (4.3 ± 1.0 versus 3.7 ± 0.7 cm; P = .008) and also length (12.1 ± 1.9 versus 10.5 ± 1.4 cm; P = .001). Twenty-six of 36 patients (72.2%) had a history of appendectomy compared to 3 of 27 controls (11.1%; P < .001). The combination of an enlarged spleen (length >11 cm and/or width >4 cm) gave specificity of 100% (95% confidence interval, 87%-100%) and a positive predictive value of 100% (95% confidence interval, 78%-100%) for the diagnosis of FMF in our study.

CONCLUSIONS

Spleen size as evaluated by sonography is larger in patients with FMF compared to healthy controls. Most patients with FMF included in this study had undergone appendectomy. Familial Mediterranean fever should be considered as a differential diagnosis in Turkish migrants in Germany if the spleen is enlarged and a history of appendectomy is reported.