Survey on the Situation of Medical Departments in the Pharmaceutical Industry in Spain.

Introduction: Medical departments have evolved from a position of support to one of strategic leadership. The number of tasks and the complexity of interactions in which they are involved is increasing. However, the spectrum of their activity in the sector differs significantly from one company to another.

Cost-effectiveness of cladribine tablets and dimethyl fumarate in the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis in Spain.

To analyze the cost-effectiveness of treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) with cladribine tablets (CladT) and dimethyl fumarate (DMF) from the perspective of the Spanish National Health System (NHS). A probabilistic Markov model (second-order Monte Carlo simulation) with a 10-year time horizon and annual Markov cycles was performed. CladT was the dominant treatment, with lower costs (-74,741 € [95% CI: -67,247; -85,661 €]) and greater effectiveness (0.

Mixed Pain Can Be Discerned in the Primary Care and Orthopedics Settings in Spain: A Large Cross-Sectional Study.

Objectives: To assess the value of the concept of mixed pain by investigating its acceptance and interpretation by health care professionals and the differential characteristics in patients with mixed pain.

Materials And Methods: Data from 5024 patients with pain from 551 sites in Primary Care and Orthopedics settings were analyzed in this cross-sectional study. Pain characteristics, other factors influencing pain, health care-related data and health-related quality of life were summarized and compared among 3 groups of patients according to the type of pain (nociceptive, neuropathic, or mixed), as assigned by the investigators after considering the pathophysiological mechanisms involved.

Chronic Pain Features Relate to Quality of Life More than Physiopathology: A Cross-Sectional Evaluation in Pain Clinics.

Objective: To compare the impact of chronic pain physiopathology on health-related quality of life (HR-QoL), considering the influence of pain features and psychosocial adjustment (intensity, interference, psychological comorbidities, and sleep quality).

Design: A cross-sectional study involving 1,025 noncancer patients with predominantly neuropathic, nociceptive, or mixed chronic pain conditions was conducted in 88 pain clinics within Spain. The EuroQol-5 Dimensions instrument (EQ-5D) was used to measure HR-QoL.

Effectiveness of opioid rotation in the control of cancer pain: the ROTODOL study.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of opioid rotation (OR) to manage cancer pain. To describe the adverse events (AEs) associated with OR.

Setting: Thirty-nine tertiary hospital services.

The association of chronic neck pain, low back pain, and migraine with absenteeism due to health problems in Spanish workers.

Study Design: Cross-sectional.

Objective: To examine whether 3 types of chronic pain are associated with absenteeism and with the number of days absent from work in the general population of Spain.

Summary Of Background Data: Chronic pain has been associated with absenteeism, but most of the evidence is based on unadjusted analyses and on specific professional categories.

High Prevalence of Neuropathic Pain Features in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: The present epidemiological research evaluated the prevalence of neuropathic pain characteristics in patients with painful knee osteoarthritis (OA) and the plausibility that such neuropathic features were specific of OA.

Methods: Outpatients with chronic pain associated with knee OA who attended orthopedic surgery or rehabilitation clinics were systematically screened for neuropathic pain with the Douleur Neuropathique in 4 questions (DN4) questionnaire. Data from medical files and those obtained during a single structured clinical interview were correlated with the DN4 scores.

Transdermal buprenorphine for the treatment of cancer pain: results from a multicenter, observational, post-marketing study in Spain (RELIEF study).

Unlabelled: SUMMARY 

Aim: This study evaluated health outcomes in patients with cancer pain during treatment with transdermal buprenorphine, including quality of life, effectiveness, tolerability, and functional consequences for patients and their carers.

Methods: In this 3-month, noncomparative, multicenter, observational study performed in a normal clinical practice setting in Spain, patients received transdermal buprenorphine 37, 52.5 or 70 µg/h, with patches changed every 96 h.

Chronic noncancer pain intensity is inversely related to analgesic adherence in pain clinics.

Objective: The relationship between chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) control and pain medication (analgesic) adherence has not been widely documented. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between pain intensity and the degree of adherence to analgesic medication prescribed in pain clinics. There was also a special emphasis on the influence of polypharmacy on adherence.

Psychometric validation of the neuropathic pain symptom inventory for its use in Spanish.

Context: Clinical instruments are required for the assessment of neuropathic pain (NP).

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to perform a complete psychometric validation of the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI) in Spanish patients.

Methods: A linguistically validated version in Spanish of the NPSI and other clinical instruments for NP were administered on two occasions separated by at least one month to 548 patients suffering from chronic NP.

[Trends and factors associated with analgesics use in Spain from 1993 to 2006].

Background And Objectives: To analyze trends in the use of analgesics in adults in Spain from 1993 to 2006, and to identify the associated lifestyle and socio-demographic factors.

Patients And Method: The data were obtained from 6 Spanish National Health Surveys conducted in 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2006 with representative samples of the non-institutionalized Spanish population of 16 years of age and older. Analgesics use was defined as having taken place in the 15 days prior to the interview.

Incidence of oral mucositis, its treatment and pain management in patients receiving cancer treatment at Radiation Oncology Departments in Spanish hospitals (MUCODOL Study).

Objective: To estimate the incidence of oral mucositis (OM) in patients receiving radiotherapy, describe the treatments used to manage pain in OM grades 3 and 4 and assess relief of pain and patient satisfaction.

Patients And Methods: All patients older than 18 years consecutively attending a Radiation Oncology Department over 5 working days were included in a cross-sectional study. The data recorded were RTOG scale of OM (1, 2, 3 or 4), age and sex.

[Effectiveness and safety of transdermal buprenorphine for chronic pain treatment in the elderly: a prospective observational study].

Background And Objective: A number of subjects aged over 65 suffer from some kind of chronic pain. The constant growth of this demographic group makes research of new and efficacious treatment strategies necessary. Transdermal buprenorphine has shown to be a safe and efficacious pharmacotherapy for patients with moderate to severe chronic pain in clinical trials.

Effectiveness and tolerability of the buprenorphine transdermal system in patients with moderate to severe chronic pain: a multicenter, open-label, uncontrolled, prospective, observational clinical study.

Background: A new transdermal delivery system (TDS) for the rate-controlled systemic delivery of buprenorphine is available in 3 patch strengths, with release rates of 35, 52.5, and 70 microg/h over 72 hours, delivering daily amounts of 0.8, 1.