Ribu L, Rustøen T, Birkeland K, Hanestad BR, Paul SM, Miaskowski C, et al.
The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society. Date of publication 2006 Apr 1;volume 7(4):290-9.
1. J Pain. 2006 Apr;7(4):290-9.
The prevalence and occurrence of diabetic foot ulcer pain and its impact on
health-related quality of life.
Ribu L(1), Rustøen T, Birkeland K, Hanestad BR, Paul SM, Miaskowski C.
Author information:
(1)Faculty of Nursing, Oslo University College, Oslo, Norway. lis.ribu@su.hio.no
This study describes the prevalence and occurrence of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU)
pain and the impact of DFU pain on health-related quality of life (HRQL) using
generic and disease specific instruments. Data were obtained from 127 patients
with DFU who were recruited from 6 hospital-based diabetic outpatient clinics.
HRQL was measured using the Medical Outcome Study-Short Form (SF-36) and the
Diabetes Foot Ulcer Scale (DFS). Occurrence of pain was assessed using 2 items
from the DFS (ie, pain while walking and/or standing and pain during the night
related to foot ulcer problems). Seventy-five percent reported some pain related
to DFU and 57% reported DFU pain while walking and/or standing and also during
the night. Twenty-five percent reported pain none of the time. A higher
percentage of patients with pain reported having a prescription for an analgesic
medication than those without pain. Patients who reported pain most or all of the
time had statistically and clinically significantly poorer HRQL than those who
did not report pain. These findings suggest that pain associated with DFU is a
significant clinical problem. Additional research is warranted to further
characterize the pain associated with DFU and its impact on patient outcomes and
HRQL.PERSPECTIVE: Numerous basic and clinical studies have focused on pain
associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Findings from this study suggest
a new pain problem in patients with diabetes, namely, pain associated with foot
ulcers, that warrants further investigation.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2005.12.002
PMID: 16618473 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
