Quality of life of osteoarthritis patients in the aspect of analgesic treatment

Introduction: Osteoarthritis an inflammatory process in the synovial membrane. These changes cause pain and joint deformities. Pharmacists can assess patients’ quality of life, which can be a good criterion for assessing analgesics treatment effectiveness and prevent the growing phenomenon of polypharmacy and self-treatment. Purpose: To answer these questions: 1) Is there a relationship between the quality of life of patients with osteoarthritis taking analgesics and those with osteoarthritis taking analgesics and implemented rehabilitation? 2) Do patients using analgesics practice polypharmacy? 3) Are patients with osteoarthritis the main consumers of painkillers? and 4) Does the use of analgesics affect the health-related quality of life of patients with osteoarthritis? Materials and methods: The study was conducted on 240 people who were divided into three groups: osteoarthritis, reference (generally healthy, occasionally taking analgesics), and control (generally healthy, no intake of analgesics). To assess the rise in analgesics consumption by patients with osteoarthritis and the phenomenon of polypharmacy, an original questionnaire was used. Results: There is a relationship between the quality of life of patients with osteoarthritis taking analgesics. Statistical analysis showed that in the years 2013-2015 the purchase of prescription analgesics and without a prescription systematically, significantly increased. Conclusions: Patients using analgesics unknowingly practice polypharmacy. In Ars Medica Pharmacies, analgesics purchases by patients with osteoarthritis grew significantly in the analyzed period, but they are not the main analgesics consumers. Use of analgesics by patients with osteoarthritis improves their health-related quality of life.