AB0592 ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE APPLICATION OF TOPICAL ANALGESICS
Authors: S. Miladi, W. Belhaj, A. Fazaa, M. Sellami, K. Ouenniche, L. Souebni, S. Kassab, S. Chekili, K. Ben Abdelghani, A. Laatar
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2021)

Background: In chronic osteoarticular pain, especially knee osteoarthritis, topical analgesics and topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs represent an interesting therapeutic alternative for patients with several comorbidities in order to avoid side effects and medical interactions. Objectives: The aim of this work was to assess how patients apply a topical analgesic. Methods: A prospective study has been conducted over a period of 4 weeks. Sixty-six patients followed for knee osteoarthritis at different stages of the disease and under topical analgesic treatment were integrated into this study. Epidemiological data, physical examination and x-ray data were collected. The impact of knee osteoarthritis was evaluated by the Lequesne and WOMAC indices. Patients were asked about how long they apply the treatment, how often they use the treatment per week and whether they are massaging the aching area while applying the treatment. Results: In the studied population, the majority of patients were women (87%) with an average age of 55 years. Forty percent of the patients were illiterate as long as 21% received a college education. Patients’ occupations were distributed as follows: 59% housewives, 21% retirees, 12% manual occupations and 8% non-manual occupations. The most common comorbidities were high blood pressure (61%), diabetes (38%) and osteoporosis (36%). The average duration of development of osteoarthritis of the knee was 9 years. The most common radiological stage was stage 1 (58%). The site was femorotibial in 88% of cases, patellofemoral in 4% of cases and bi or tri-compartmental in 8% of cases. The osteoarthritis most often affected both knees: 86% of cases The average of the Lequesne index was 11. The average WOMAC index was 12 for pain, 1.5 for stiffness and 48 for dysfunction. All the interviewed patients were on topical analgesics for an average of 5 years. The average frequency of application of topical analgesics was 9 times per week. Housewives and retirees used the treatment on average 14 times per week while working patients use the treatment on average 5 times per week. Seventy-two percent of patients reported that they performed an average massage lasting 11 minutes with each application. Among patients with secondary and university education, 64% of patients reported that they performed a massage on the painful knee while applying the medication. Patients followed for knee osteoarthritis for more than 10 years tend to apply the local analgesic for a shorter period of time (an average of 5 minutes). Conclusion: Patients followed for osteoarthritis of the knee who are taking topical analgesics tend to make misuse, including massaging for a long time and applying treatment less frequently than recommended. The level of education does not seem to play a role in knowing the right way to apply. However, patients who have been followed for a longer period for knee osteoarthritis use the treatment more correctly. References: [1]Flores MP, Castro AP, Nascimento Jdos S. Topical analgesics. Rev Bras Anestesiol. 2012 Mar-Apr;62(2):244-52. doi: 10.1016/S0034-7094(12)70122-8. PMID: 22440379. [2]Barkin RL. The pharmacology of topical analgesics. Postgrad Med. 2013 Jul;125(4 Suppl 1):7-18. doi: 10.1080/00325481.2013.1110566911. PMID: 24547599. Disclosure of Interests: None declared.