Mrs D is an 88-year-old female who was referred by her General Practitioner to the chronic pain service with persistent pain affecting multiple sites throughout her body.
She has experienced lower back and joint pain for many years and put it down initially to a busy working life in her career as a shop assistant, as well as raising her family. In recent years, her pain has gradually become more of a problem for her and is impacting on her physical abilities, confidence, mood and independence. She was referred by her GP for specialist pain management input.
- If you were the pain clinician seeing her for her first consultation, what questions would you like to ask?
- What would you like to explore in her psychosocial history?
- What might you look for on examination of the patient?
- Would you ask for any further investigations?
