Context and Policy Issues
History taking has been shown to have an important role on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with chronic pain,1–4 mobility impairment, and organ system dysfunction such as musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and hormonal systems.5–10 Lifetime history taking, as opposed to short-term history taking, has been shown to link current chronic pain and functional system dysfunction to their root causes in survivors of sexual assaults,11 motor vehicle collision,12 work-related injury13 and other traumatic events.14,15 The clinical benefit of treatment based on lifetime history taking needs to be proven to determine its importance.
This Rapid Response report aims to review the clinical and cost-effectiveness of lifetime history-informed treatment for chronic pain, mobility impairment, or organ systems dysfunction. Evidence-based guidelines on lifetime history-informed treatment for chronic pain, mobility impairment, or organ systems dysfunction will also be reviewed.
Research Question
What is the clinical effectiveness of lifetime history-informed treatment for chronic pain, mobility impairment, or organ systems dysfunction in patients?
What are the evidence-based guidelines regarding lifetime history-informed treatment for chronic pain, mobility impairment, or organ systems dysfunction?
Key Findings
There were no studies that met the pre-specified criteria regarding the clinical and cost-effectiveness of lifetime history-informed treatment for chronic pain, mobility impairment, or organ systems dysfunction. No evidence-based guidelines on the use of lifetime history-informed treatment for chronic pain, mobility impairment, or organ systems dysfunction were found.
Methods
A limited literature search was conducted on key resources including Ovid Medline, PubMed (for non-Medline records), the Cochrane Library, University of York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) databases, Canadian and major international health technology agencies, as well as a focused Internet search. A focused search for all study types of interest was conducted. For this search, main concepts appeared in the title or as major subject headings and methodological filters were applied to limit retrieval to health technology assessments, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, non-randomized studies, and guidelines. Where possible, retrieval was limited to the human population. The search was also limited to English language documents published between January 1, 2013 and October 15, 2018.
Rapid Response reports are organized so that the evidence for each research question is presented separately.
Selection Criteria and Methods
One reviewer screened citations and selected studies. In the first level of screening, titles and abstracts were reviewed and potentially relevant articles were retrieved and assessed for inclusion. The final selection of full-text articles was based on the inclusion criteria presented in .
Exclusion Criteria
Articles were excluded if they did not meet the selection criteria outlined in , they were duplicate publications, or were published prior to 2013.
Critical Appraisal of Individual Studies
Critical appraisal was not performed as no eligible studies were identified.
Summary of Evidence
Quantity of Research Available
A total of 429 citations were identified in the literature search. Following screening of titles and abstracts, 419 citations were excluded and ten potentially relevant reports from the electronic search were retrieved for full-text review. No potentially relevant publication was retrieved from the grey literature search. Of these potentially relevant articles, ten publications were excluded for various reasons, and no publications met the inclusion criteria and were included in this report. Appendix 1 presents the PRISMA flowchart of the study selection.
Summary of Findings
No relevant HTAs, SRs, MAs, RCTs, non-RCTs, cost studies, or evidence-based guidelines on the clinical effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of lifetime history-informed treatment for chronic pain, mobility impairment, or organ systems dysfunction were identified.
Conclusions and Implications for Decision or Policy Making
There were no studies that met the pre-specified criteria regarding the clinical and cost-effectiveness of lifetime history-informed treatment for chronic pain, mobility impairment, or organ systems dysfunction. No evidence-based guidelines on the use of lifetime history-informed treatment for chronic pain, mobility impairment, or organ systems dysfunction were found.
Clinical and economic studies regarding the clinical and cost-effectiveness of lifetime history-informed treatment for chronic pain, mobility impairment, or organ systems dysfunction are needed. Evidence –based guidelines are needed to guide the use of lifetime history taking.
References
- 1.
Pestka
EL, Craner
J, Evans
M, et al. Impact of family history of substance abuse on admission opioid dose, depressive symptoms, and pain catastrophizing in patients with chronic pain. Pain Manag Nurs. 2018;19(2):115–124. [
PubMed: 29153294]
- 2.
Maas
ET, Juch
JN, Ostelo
RW, et al. Systematic review of patient history and physical examination to diagnose chronic low back pain originating from the facet joints. Eur J Pain. 2017;21(3):403–414. [
PubMed: 27723170]
- 3.
Grodahl
LH, Fawcett
L, Nazareth
M, et al. Diagnostic utility of patient history and physical examination data to detect spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis in athletes with low back pain: a systematic review. Man Ther. 2016;24:7–17. [
PubMed: 27317501]
- 4.
Muller
M, Kamping
S, Benrath
J, et al. Treatment history and placebo responses to experimental and clinical pain in chronic pain patients. Eur J Pain. 2016;20(9):1530–1541. [
PubMed: 27062187]
- 5.
Davis
DL, Mulligan
ME, Moszkowicz
A, Resnik
CS. Clinical history provided by referring clinicians and patients for musculoskeletal MRI. J Am Coll Radiol. 2017;14(9):1215–1218. [
PMC free article: PMC6759058] [
PubMed: 28465025]
- 6.
Katz
JN, Smith
SR, Yang
HY, et al. Value of history, physical examination, and radiographic findings in the diagnosis of symptomatic meniscal tear among middle-aged subjects with knee pain. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2017;69(4):484–490. [
PMC free article: PMC5219865] [
PubMed: 27390312]
- 7.
Jain
A, Mehta
N, Secko
M, et al. History, physical examination, laboratory testing, and emergency department ultrasonography for the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis. Acad Emerg Med. 2017;24(3):281–297. [
PubMed: 27862628]
- 8.
Iliceto
A, Berndt
SL, Greenslade
JH, et al. Agreement between patient-reported and cardiology-adjudicated medical history in patients with possible ischemic chest pain: an observational study. Crit Pathw Cardiol. 2016;15(3):121–125. [
PubMed: 27465009]
- 9.
Wanigatunga
AA, Sourdet
SS, LaMonte
MJ, et al. Physical impairment and body weight history in postmenopausal women: the Women’s Health Initiative. Public Health Nutr. 2016;19(17):3169–3177. [
PMC free article: PMC5135627] [
PubMed: 27269298]
- 10.
Raynor
MB, Kuhn
JE. Utility of features of the patient’s history in the diagnosis of atraumatic shoulder pain: a systematic review. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2016;25(4):688–694. [
PubMed: 26711472]
- 11.
Spiegel
DR, Shaukat
AM, Mccroskey
AL, et al. Conceptualizing a subtype of patients with chronic pain: the necessity of obtaining a history of sexual abuse. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res Med. 2016;51(1):84–103. [
PubMed: 26681238]
- 12.
Nolet
PS, Kristman
VL, Cote
P, Carroll
LJ, Cassidy
JD. The association between a lifetime history of low back injury in a motor vehicle collision and future low back pain: a population-based cohort study. Eur Spine J. 2018;27(1):136–144. [
PubMed: 28391385]
- 13.
Nolet
PS, Kristman
VL, Cote
P, Carroll
LJ, Hincapie
CA, David Cassidy
J. The association between a lifetime history of work-related low back injury and future low back pain: a population-based cohort study. Eur Spine J. 2016;25(4):1242–1250. [
PubMed: 26208942]
- 14.
Scott
KM, Koenen
KC, Aguilar-Gaxiola
S, et al. Associations between lifetime traumatic events and subsequent chronic physical conditions: a cross-national, cross-sectional study. PLoS One. 2013;8(11):e80573. [
PMC free article: PMC3864645] [
PubMed: 24348911]
- 15.
Whiteneck
GG, Cuthbert
JP, Corrigan
JD, Bogner
JA. Prevalence of self-reported lifetime history of traumatic brain injury and associated disability: a statewide population-based survey. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2016;31(1):E55–62. [
PubMed: 25931187]
Appendix 1. Selection of Included Studies
About the Series
CADTH Rapid Response Report: Summary with Critical Appraisal
Funding: CADTH receives funding from Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments, with the exception of Quebec.
Suggested citation:
Lifetime History-Informed Treatment for Chronic Pain, Mobility Impairment, or Organ Systems Dysfunction: A Review of Clinical Effectiveness and Guidelines. Ottawa: CADTH; 2018 July. (CADTH rapid response report: summary with critical appraisal).
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