New Survey Shows Moderate-to-Severe Acute Pain is Widely Undertreated, Especially Among Older Adults

RARITAN, N.J., Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new survey shows almost half (44%) of U.S. patients in outpatient settings received potentially inadequate relief of moderate-to-severe acute pain.

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Findings from the Physicians Partnering Against Pain (P3) Survey, one of the largest pain management surveys of physicians and patients in the United States, also show that this undertreatment was particularly prevalent among adults aged 75 and older (52%).

Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, formerly Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, funded the survey.  An online version of the article, published in the July/August issue of the Journal of Opioid Management, may be found here.

"This large-scale survey gives us much greater insight into pain management in the real world, confirming that acute pain is widely undertreated, particularly among the older population," said Paul Chang, M.D., Vice President, Medical Affairs, Internal Medicine, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.  

The P3 survey focused on U.S. physicians and their patients with moderate-to-severe acute pain and was designed to evaluate patient perceptions of the adequacy of analgesia and the influence of opioid-related side effects in outpatient pain management.  Undertreatment of pain in older adults is a well-known problem in the United States and older adult patients may not receive opioids due to many reasons, including poor assessment of pain and adverse effects, as well as concerns about tolerance, physical dependence, and addiction.

The analysis evaluated patient-reported measures, including adequacy of pain medication through a pain management index (PMI) score, adverse effects, and actions to manage gastrointestinal adverse effects during opioid treatment. While all three age cohorts in the study reported inadequate analgesia, older patients were significantly more likely than younger patients to have inadequate pain relief, which was seen in 43 percent, 46 percent, and 52 percent of patients aged under 65, 65 to 74, 75 years and older, respectively (p=0.0001).

Results of this survey, including data from 50,869 patients who submitted the survey between September and November 2008, are consistent with previous reports from smaller studies in other settings.

About Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is dedicated to addressing and resolving the major unmet medical needs of our time. Driven by our commitment to patients, healthcare professionals, and caregivers, we strive to develop sustainable and integrated healthcare solutions by working in partnership with all stakeholders on the basis of trust and transparency. Our daily work is guided by meeting goals of excellence in quality, innovation, safety, and efficacy in order to advance patient care. 

Our company provides medicines for an array of health concerns in several therapeutic areas, including: cardiovascular disease, general medicine (acid reflux disease, infectious diseases), mental health (bipolar I disorder, schizophrenia), neurologics (Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, migraine prevention and treatment), pain management, and women's health.

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SOURCE Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.