Medication Use among Pediatric Patients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Syndromes at Initial Pain Clinic Evaluation

AIM: To characterize medication use by adolescents with chronic musculoskeletal pain syndromes before an initial multidisciplinary clinic visit. PATIENTS & METHODS: A cross-sectional sample of 120 adolescents and parents reported on standardized assessment measures, with medication use data extracted from the medical chart and categorized. RESULTS: On average, 3.2 medications were reported; 70% used more than one pain-specific medication including opioids (17%), nonopioids (31%), psychotropics/neuropathics (45%) and other medications (13%). Adolescents with complex regional pain syndrome consistently reported greatest use of opioid, psychotropic/neuropathic and other pain medications. A regression model explained 17% of the variance in pain medication use. Nonpain medication use and disability contributed unique variance - pain duration and intensity did not. CONCLUSION: Greater attention to factors contributing to prescriptive practices, medication use and long-term outcomes is warranted.