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Table 4 Treatment characteristics of patients with OA (not included in the determination of treatment status)

From: Factors associated with physician-reported treatment status of patients with osteoarthritis pain

 

Prescription medication for OAa

Physician treatment for OAb

Non-Rx (n = 218)

Rx (n = 623)

p-value

Self-managed (n = 122)

Physician-treated (n = 719)

p-value

Physician-reported current nonpharmacologic therapy, n (%)c

 Weight loss

79 (36.2)

288 (46.2)

0.0105

27 (22.1)

340 (47.3)

< 0.0001

 Fitness/exercise regimen

109 (50.0)

325 (52.2)

0.5816

42 (34.4)

392 (54.5)

< 0.0001

 Avoidance of painful activities

50 (22.9)

139 (22.3)

0.8492

15 (12.3)

174 (24.2)

0.0036

 Therapeutic massage

26 (11.9)

81 (13.0)

0.6818

6 (4.9)

101 (14.0)

0.0051

 Dietary supplements/home remedies

20 (9.2)

29 (4.7)

0.0142

3 (2.5)

46 (6.4)

0.0859

 Hypnosis

0 (0.0)

1 (0.2)

1

0 (0.0)

1 (0.1)

1

 Join patient groups/forums

0 (0.0)

4 (0.6)

0.5775

0 (0.0)

4 (0.6)

1

 Walking stick/cane

8 (3.7)

54 (8.7)

0.0151

1 (0.8)

61 (8.5)

0.0027

 Walker

4 (1.8)

17 (2.7)

0.4666

1 (0.8)

20 (2.8)

0.3428

 Wheelchair

0 (0.0)

2 (0.3)

1

0 (0.0)

2 (0.3)

1

 Other

12 (5.5)

7 (1.1)

0.0006

4 (3.3)

15 (2.1)

0.504

Physician-reported prior medication, n (%)

 

0.0012

 

0.0054

 No

131 (60.1)

295 (47.4)

 

76 (62.3)

350 (48.7)

 

 Yes

87 (39.9)

328 (52.6)

46 (37.7)

369 (51.3)

Physician-recommended current over-the-counter medication, n (%)

 

< 0.0001

 

0.0001

 No

77 (35.3)

427 (68.5)

 

54 (44.3)

450 (62.6)

 

 Yes

141 (64.7)

196 (31.5)

68 (55.7)

269 (37.4)

Patient-reported current over-the-counter medication, n (%)d

 

< 0.0001

 

< 0.0001

 No

78 (39.8)

373 (64.9)

 

39 (36.4)

412 (62.0)

 

 Yes

118 (60.2)

202 (35.1)

68 (63.6)

252 (38.0)

Prior surgery, n (%)

 

0.114

 

0.5237

 No

162 (74.3)

495 (79.5)

 

98 (80.3)

559 (77.7)

 

 Yes

56 (25.7)

128 (20.5)

24 (19.7)

160 (22.3)

Future surgery, n (%)

 

0.0074

 

0.0012

 No

169 (77.5)

423 (67.9)

 

101 (82.8)

491 (68.3)

 

 Yes

49 (22.5)

200 (32.1)

21 (17.2)

228 (31.7)

  1. p-value for bivariate comparison (non-Rx vs. Rx; or self-managed vs. physician-treated)
  2. aCurrent prescription medication
  3. bCurrent prescription medication, and/or physician recommendation for physical or occupational therapy, acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or cognitive behavior therapy/psychotherapy
  4. cNonpharmacologic therapies requiring no/minimal medical supervision (which were ineligible for the determination of treatment status). Physicians were asked ‘Which of the following suggestions have you made to the patient? [for the management of their osteoarthritis]’. See Table 3 for corresponding data for other response options that typically require prescription or referral from a physician (physical/physiotherapist, acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, cognitive behavior therapist/psychotherapist, occupational therapist)
  5. dSample size: n = 196 (non-Rx), n = 575 (Rx), n = 107 (self-managed), n = 664 (physician-treated)
  6. Non-Rx not prescription-medicated, OA osteoarthritis, Rx prescription-medicated
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BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

ISSN: 1471-2474

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