When to treat?
The decision to start treatment with analgesic drugs should be based on a thorough clinical and physical examination, and should include:
- Accurate assessment and diagnosis of the type of pain.
- Exclusion of any other underlying pathology.
- A full pain history in order to establish pain severity, and its impact on the patient’s well-being and activities of daily living.
When taking a pain history, GPs need to pay particular attention to the patient’s self-report of their pain.2
Pain rating scales are useful tools to help patients describe their pain appropriately. Patient assessment and the use of pain rating scales are covered in more detail in the assessment of pain module.