Encounters for foot and ankle pain in UK primary care: a population-based cohort study of CPRD data
Encounters for foot and ankle pain in UK primary care: a population-based cohort study of CPRD data
BACKGROUND: Older patients who have foot pain report variation in access to services to manage their foot health. To plan services it is essential to understand the scale and burden of foot pain that exists for GPs.
AIM: To provide UK-wide population-level data of the frequency of foot and/or ankle pain encounters recorded in general practice.
DESIGN AND SETTING: Population-based cohort design study using data drawn from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) from January 2010 to December 2013.
METHOD: All CPRD data were collected prospectively by participating GPs. The primary outcome was prevalence of GP encounters for foot and/or ankle pain, stratified by age, sex, and different subgroups of causes. RESULTS: A foot and/or ankle pain encounter was recorded for 346 067 patients, and there was a total of 567 095 recorded encounters (mean per person 1.6, standard deviation [SD] 1.3). The prevalence of recorded encounters of foot and/or ankle pain was 2980 per 100 000 (3%). The number of patients with a recorded encounter of foot and/or ankle pain was 1820 per 100 000 (1.8%). Foot and/or ankle pain encounters were reported across all age groups (54.4% females), with those aged 71-80 years placing the greatest burden on GPs. The most common specified referrals were to orthopaedics (n = 36 881) and physiotherapy (n = 33 987), followed by podiatry (n = 25 980).
CONCLUSION: The burden of foot and/or ankle pain encounters recorded by GPs is not insubstantial, and spans all ages, with a high proportion of referrals to orthopaedics. The authors recommend further exploration of 'first-contact practitioners' for foot and/or ankle pain in general practice to alleviate the burden on GPs.
ankle, burden, foot, pain, prevalence
e422-e429
Ferguson, Rachel
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Culliford, David
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Prieto-Alhambra, Daniel
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Pinedo-Villanueva, Rafael
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Delmestri, Antonella
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Arden, Nigel
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Bowen, Catherine
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June 2019
Ferguson, Rachel
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Culliford, David
25511573-74d3-422a-b0ee-dfe60f80df87
Prieto-Alhambra, Daniel
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Pinedo-Villanueva, Rafael
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Delmestri, Antonella
c1dfbd4f-1ec0-4e02-a6fa-423f90edc322
Arden, Nigel
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Bowen, Catherine
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Ferguson, Rachel, Culliford, David, Prieto-Alhambra, Daniel, Pinedo-Villanueva, Rafael, Delmestri, Antonella, Arden, Nigel and Bowen, Catherine
(2019)
Encounters for foot and ankle pain in UK primary care: a population-based cohort study of CPRD data.
British Journal of General Practice, 69 (683), .
(doi:10.3399/bjgp19X703817).
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Older patients who have foot pain report variation in access to services to manage their foot health. To plan services it is essential to understand the scale and burden of foot pain that exists for GPs.
AIM: To provide UK-wide population-level data of the frequency of foot and/or ankle pain encounters recorded in general practice.
DESIGN AND SETTING: Population-based cohort design study using data drawn from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) from January 2010 to December 2013.
METHOD: All CPRD data were collected prospectively by participating GPs. The primary outcome was prevalence of GP encounters for foot and/or ankle pain, stratified by age, sex, and different subgroups of causes. RESULTS: A foot and/or ankle pain encounter was recorded for 346 067 patients, and there was a total of 567 095 recorded encounters (mean per person 1.6, standard deviation [SD] 1.3). The prevalence of recorded encounters of foot and/or ankle pain was 2980 per 100 000 (3%). The number of patients with a recorded encounter of foot and/or ankle pain was 1820 per 100 000 (1.8%). Foot and/or ankle pain encounters were reported across all age groups (54.4% females), with those aged 71-80 years placing the greatest burden on GPs. The most common specified referrals were to orthopaedics (n = 36 881) and physiotherapy (n = 33 987), followed by podiatry (n = 25 980).
CONCLUSION: The burden of foot and/or ankle pain encounters recorded by GPs is not insubstantial, and spans all ages, with a high proportion of referrals to orthopaedics. The authors recommend further exploration of 'first-contact practitioners' for foot and/or ankle pain in general practice to alleviate the burden on GPs.
Text
Observations of foot and ankle pain encounters reported by GPs in the UK, 2010-2013
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 24 October 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 30 May 2019
Published date: June 2019
Keywords:
ankle, burden, foot, pain, prevalence
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 426375
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/426375
ISSN: 0960-1643
PURE UUID: b1accae6-0fa3-4679-b68c-a6d8a2de4a69
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Date deposited: 26 Nov 2018 17:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 07:19
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Contributors
Author:
Rachel Ferguson
Author:
David Culliford
Author:
Daniel Prieto-Alhambra
Author:
Rafael Pinedo-Villanueva
Author:
Antonella Delmestri
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