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Patient Education to Improve Pain Management in Older Adults With Acute Musculoskeletal Pain: A Pilot Randomized Trial

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Musculoskeletal Pain
Interventions
Behavioral: Video
Behavioral: Phone follow-up
Registration Number
NCT02438384
Lead Sponsor
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Brief Summary

This is a three arm pilot randomized trial. Patients will be assigned to:

1. Usual care

2. Video education in the Emergency Department (ED)

3. Video education in the ED plus phone follow-up at three days with geriatric pain management specialist for all patients with pain \>=4/10

Detailed Description

This is a three arm pilot randomized trial. Patients will be assigned to:

1. Usual care

2. Video education in the ED (10 minute interactive video)

3. Video education in the ED plus phone follow-up at three days with geriatric pain management specialist for all patients with pain \>=4/10

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
75
Inclusion Criteria
  • Age 50 and older; ED visit for acute musculoskeletal pain
Exclusion Criteria
  • Cognitively impaired; chronic pain (daily opioid use prior to onset of pain or pain symptoms more than one month); prison; injury or pain condition requiring hospital admission.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
VideoVideoPatients will watch 10 minute educational video
Video plus Phone Follow-upVideoPatients will watch 10 minute educational video and receive phone call follow-up at 3 days to assess pain symptoms. Patients with a pain score of 4 or more will receive another call with advice from a geriatric pain specialist.
Video plus Phone Follow-upPhone follow-upPatients will watch 10 minute educational video and receive phone call follow-up at 3 days to assess pain symptoms. Patients with a pain score of 4 or more will receive another call with advice from a geriatric pain specialist.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Pain ScoreED visit and 30 days post-ED visit

Change in Pain from emergency department (ED) visit to 30 day follow-up phone call will be measured by calculating the difference between the maximum pain score in the ED and the patient reported average overall pain severity in the past week using the 0-10 numeric rating scale for both measures.Change in pain will be reported as a negative number if the pain decreases (i.e., 10 to 8 = -2). Higher scores indicate a worse outcome.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Average Overall Pain at One Month30 days after ED visit

Determined using 0-10 numerical rating scale to answer the question "What is the average amount of pain you have experienced over the last week on a scale of 0-10. where 0 means no pain and 10 means pain as severe as it could possibly be.

Mean Physical Function Scores30 days after ED visit

Using a measure of higher-level physical function based on walking, climbing stairs, and carrying bags - scores range from 0 to 12 with higher score indicating higher function.

Number of Participants Experiencing Medication Side Effects30 days after ED visit

Patients were asked if they experienced any of the following side effects: fatigue, drowsiness, trouble sleeping, trouble thinking, dizziness, unsteadiness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, black or bloody stool, trouble urinating, loss of appetite, itching or shortness of breath. Patients were also queried about any other side effects they had that were not on the list.

Participants reporting at least one side effect were included.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

UNC Hospitals Emergency Department

🇺🇸

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

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