Researchers have created a mobile application to record the level of pain felt each day. In response, the phone gives advice on opioid use, rest, or exercise.
It would now be possible to manage his pain thanks to his Smartphone. An application capable of reducing the use of opioids by better informing patients was presented at the annual congress of theEuropean Society of Anaesthesiology. During the trialsit has reduced patients’ consumption of opioids.
Opioid information and advice
Dutch researchers recruited 71 participants aged 56 to 70 who had knee surgery. During the first two weeks of returning home, 38 patients used the PainCoach app in addition to usual care, and 33 received care only. The mobile application made it possible to record the level of pain felt each day: from nil to unbearable. In response, the phone gave advice on opioid use, rest, or exercise.
All the patients answered questionnaires on the level of pain and the consumption of opioids before the operation, during the two weeks of the study and one month after. Researchers found that the more participants used the app, the less opioids they consumed. Compared to the group that did not use the app, patients who did took 23% less opioids and 15% less paracetamol.
They also seemed to recover better after the operation. PainCoach users saw their pain during physical exercises reduce four times faster, compared to the rest of the group. Their night pains went down six times faster.
The Opioid Crisis
“These are important findings given (…) the extent of the misuse of painkillers around the world,” said Dr. Amar Sheombar, lead author of the research. Every year, 12 million French people are treated with opium-based drugs, including 1 million with strong opioids. Between 2004 and 2007, additional prescriptions for strong opioids, such as Oxycodone and Fentanyl, increased by 100% (500,000 additional prescriptions). As a result, overdose hospitalizations and the number of associated deaths have exploded since the 2000s (+167% and +146%).
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