Pharmacologic and Non-Pharmacologic Treatments for Chronic Pain Used by Patients with Pain, HIV, and Depression


Author: Lisa A Uebelacker1,2, Emily M Cherenack3,4, Andrew Busch5,6, Jason V Baker5,6, Megan Pinkston3,7, Neil Gleason5, Stephanie Madden7, Celeste M Caviness3,4, Michael D Stein3,4,8

Affiliation: <sup>1</sup> Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. luebelacker@butler.org.

<sup>2</sup> Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Blvd, Providence, RI, 02906, USA. luebelacker@butler.org.

<sup>3</sup> Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.

<sup>4</sup> Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Blvd, Providence, RI, 02906, USA.

<sup>5</sup> Hennepin Healthcare, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

<sup>6</sup> University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

<sup>7</sup> Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.

<sup>8</sup> Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Conference/Journal: AIDS Behav
Date published: 2021 Sep 1
Other:
  Special Notes: doi: 10.1007/s10461-021-03447-x.   ,  Word Count: 147  
    The objective of this study was to understand pain treatment utilization, perceived efficacy, and differences in utilization by gender, clinic site, chronicity of pain, pain severity, and depression severity among people living with HIV (PLWH), chronic pain, and elevated depression symptoms. Participants included 187 PLWH at three HIV clinics in the U.S. Overall, 85% of participants reported taking a pain medication. One quarter (25%) reported non-pharmacological professional treatments for pain (e.g., massage, physical therapy), 60% reported mind-body treatments, including exercise, meditation, and yoga, and 62% reported other non-pharmacological self-administered treatments (e.g., heat/cold). Most pain treatments were considered "slightly helpful" or "moderately helpful." Non-pharmacological self-administered treatments were more commonly used among women than men and among individuals with constant vs. intermittent pain. Further research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of the preferred analgesic modalities of PLWH.



Keywords: Chronic pain; Depression; HIV; Treatment.



PMID: 34468967 DOI: 10.1007/s10461-021-03447-x