title: Study to evaluate the profile of patients attending pain units in Spanish hospitals for the first time (PANDHORA study).
abstract: SUMMARY
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To define the sociodemographic and clinical profile of patients attending the pain unit for the first time.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional epidemiological survey of 823 patients included by 165 physicians from 107 pain units in Spanish hospitals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean ± standard deviation age was 59 ± 15.1 years; 66.4% were women. The referring clinicians were orthopedic specialists (35.1% of patients) and general practitioners (24.9% of patients). Mean pain intensity (visual numeric scale) was 7 ± 1.8 points. Pain lasted 3-12 months in 33.7% of patients. Pain was noncancer-related in 96.3% and musculoskeletal-based in 68.6% and affected mainly the lumbar area (55.3%) and the lower limbs (40.8%). On their first visit, 7.8% of patients had not received analgesics, whereas 55.2% were taking NSAIDs, 45.1% paracetamol, 31.6% weak opioids and 15.7% strong opioids.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Musculoskeletal pain was predominantly chronic, long-lasting, lumbar and more common in women. NSAIDs are the drugs most commonly prescribed by referring clinicians. Before attending the pain unit, strong opioids and antiepileptic drugs are used much less frequently.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Unit, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol de Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Montero
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Samper
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.forename: María J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiménez