| Disease | AN OPEN, NON-RANDOMISED, STUDY (POSTMARKETING SURVEILLANCE) WAS CARRIED OUT ON THREE GROUPS OF PATIENTS AGED 18 TO 80 PRESENTING OVER AN 18 MONTH PERIOD WITH ACUTE EXACERBATIONS OF LOW BACK PAIN. THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO ASSESS THE POSSIBLE
ECONOMIC IMPACT OF INCLUDING A REGULAR DOSE OF PROPRIETARY 3 GENERAL PRACTITIONERS IN THE TREATMENT PROVIDED. A FIRST GROUP OF 115 PATIENTS, PRESENTING TO 3 GENERAL PRACTIONERS IN THE FIRST 3 MONTHS, WAS PRESCRIBED A DAILY DOSE OF EXTRACT
CONTAINING 120 MG OF SALICIN (GROUP W-120). THEY ALSO HAD ACCESS, IF NECESSARY, TO THE RANGE OF CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS ALLOWED FOR IN THE GENERAL PRACTITIONERS' BUDGETS. A SECOND GROUP OF 112 PATIENTS PRESENTING TO THE SAME GENERAL
PRACTITIONERS OVER THE NEXT 15 MONTHS, WAS PRESCRIBED EXTRACT EQUIVALENT TO 240 MG SALICIN PER DAY (GROUP W240). A THIRD "CONTROL" OR "COMPARATOR" GROUP OF 224 PATIENTS, PRESENTING TO 3 ORTHOPEDISTS (SPECIALISTS IN PHYSICAL MEDICINE) OVER THE
WHOLE 18 MONTHE PERIOD, RECEIVED ONLY THE CONVENTIONAL THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS ALLOWED IN THE ORTHOPEDISTS' BUDGETS (GROUP C). IN THE GROUP C PATIENTS, THE EXACERBATIONS HAD BEEN SHORTER BUT THE PAIN HAD BEEN MORE INTENSE AS JUDGED BY ARHUS INDEX
AND TOTAL PAIN INDEX. AFTER 4 WEEKS OF TREATMENT, ABOUT 40% OF GROUP W-240 PATIENTS WERE FREE OF PAIN WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAD TO RESORT TO SUPPLEMENTARY TREATMENTS. IN GROUP W-120 AS A WHOLE, ABLUT 19% OF PATIENTS WERE PAIN-FREE AT 4 WEEKS,
BUT ONLY 8% OF THOSE WHO DID NOT RESORT TO SUPPLEMENTARY TREATMENT. IN GROUP C, 18% OF PATIENTS WERE PAINFREE. THESE FINDINGS WERE REFLECTED REASONABLY WELL IN THE CHANGES IN THE ARHUS INDEX AND TOTAL PAIN INDEX, AND THE FINDINGS IN GROUP
W-120 WERE CONSISTENT WITH THOSE IN A; PREVIOUS RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL. MULTIVARIABLE MODELLING TO EXAMINE FOR POSSIBLE CONFOUNDING EFFECTS TENDED TO IDENTIFY MEMBERSHIP OF GROUP W-240 AS AN INDEPENDENT EXPLANATOR OF BEETER PAIN RELIEF
THAN MEMBERSHIP OF GROUP C. |