Describing the management of fibromyalgia by community pain clinic-V1

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Describing the characteristics, treatment pathways, outcomes and costs of people with fibromyalgia or chronic widespread pain managed by community pain clinics in Nottingham, and generating an indicative estimate of cost-effectiveness

• IRAS ID

  166563

• Contact name

  Rachel Elliott

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Nottingham

• Duration of Study in the UK

  0 years, 10 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  Fibromyalgia (FM) is a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body. Patients who present with pain and do not fulfill the diagnostic criteria of FM are considered to have chronic widespread pain (CWP). FM is considered the third most common rheumatic disorder after low back pain and osteoarthritis, affecting 2.8% of the UK population, while CWP affects 10% of the UK population.

  Fatigue, headache, unrefreshing sleep and cognitive dysfunction are the most associated symptoms with FM. These symptoms have a substantial effect on physical functioning resulting in the limitation of social participation and reduction of patients’ quality of life. Evidence founds that patients with FM are often required to reduce working hours up to 75%. In addition, 46% of patients are unemployed as a consequence of FM.

  More health care resources are consumed to alleviate patients’ pain and improve their quality of life. A study performed in the UK found that FM patients had more than twice as many prescriptions and visits per year when compared with people without FM. Other study found that FM patients’ hospital costs reached approximately $1 billion (around £ 671 million) over a 9-year period.

  Different medication and strategies are used to manage FM. In recent years pain clinics have been set up in primary care with the aim of providing chronic pain management locally, improving patient’s health, reducing referrals to secondary care and optimizing medication use. In the UK, according to the English pain summit reports, managing pain through CPC is already well-established but there is a need for research defining the role and exploring the effectiveness and economic consequences of these clinics in patients with chronic pain. In summary, the cost-effectiveness of applying CPC interventions on FM patients is unknown in the UK.

• REC name

  North East - York Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  15/NE/0162

• Date of REC Opinion

  23 Apr 2015

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion