Pain management among medical in-patients in Blantyre, Malawi

Abstract

Background: Pain is a leading symptom which influences patients to seek medical attention. The management of pain among patients attending in-patient care in southern African countries has been little described. Information regarding the prevalence of pain and the quality of its management may be useful in guiding clinical decisions, training of health workers and health care quality improvements.

Prevalence of Adult Pain in Turkey

“…A study investigating the prevalence of pain reported that 96.7% of 91 patients with pain were taking drugs for pain relief, and 67.8% were taking analgesics daily. [27] Studies in the literature show that chronic pain is the most common in the lumbar region. [28][29][30] Another study reports that the most common complaints of pain originate from the waist, shoulder, and head regions and that low back, musculoskeletal, and headache are the three most common pain, usually in the form of aching and throbbing pain.…”

“…[31] Studies investigating the prevalence of pain report that patients were taking analgesic drugs for relieving pain. [4,27] In a systematic review of multiple randomized controlled trials, observational studies, and case reports, which investigated opioid-related adverse events in patients who had undergone surgery, 31% of the patients had an adverse gastrointestinal event, most commonly nausea, vomiting, ileus, or constipation. [32] It is believed that the results obtained in our study are similar to that of the literature in this regard.…”