Cross-sectional study of patient satisfaction with oral analgesics in patients with chronic pain in Japan.

Background: Chronic pain is often difficult to treat, and many patients are not satisfied with analgesic treatment. The authors assessed patient satisfaction with oral analgesics in patients with chronic pain in Japan. Research design and methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study conducted in dispensing pharmacies. A patient satisfaction questionnaire survey was conducted in 781 patients prescribed one nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) or neuropathic pain (NeP) drug for at least 90 consecutive days. The primary endpoint was patient satisfaction with analgesics. The secondary endpoints were pain relief, activity of daily living (ADL) improvement and doctor-patient communication. Results: The proportions of patients who answered 'satisfied if anything' or better for patient satisfaction in the NSAID and NeP drug groups were 70.0% and 65.2%, respectively, whereas those of patients who answered 'satisfied' were 43.3% and 29.4%, respectively. The proportions of patients with improved pain relief, ADL improvement, and good doctor-patient communication were numerically higher than those of patients who answered 'satisfied if anything' or better. Conclusions: Approximately two-thirds of the patients were satisfied with current analgesics. Patient satisfaction with oral analgesics could be influenced by multiple factors.