Venous Ulcer Pain: demographic and social concerns

INTRODUCTION: Venous ulcers are caused by venous blood impaired return from tissues to heart. Chronic venous insufficiency represents about 70% to 90% of all leg ulcers. The chronic pain associated to them affects patient’s physical, psychological, social and spiritual well-being. OBJECTIVE: Characterize venous ulcers patients according demographic and social concerns and associate with the McGill Pain Questionnaire. METHODO: Prospective, descriptive and exploratory study realized with venous ulcers outpatients of a public and a private hospital in São Paulo, Brazil.  Social and demographic information were associated with the Short Form McGill assessment tool. Data was collect from November 2008 to February 2009. Demographic data were analyzed by Fisher Exact and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Pain data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Significant level was 5% and this study was approved in the Unicamp Ethical Committee. RESULTS:  It was included 30 patients, 60% female and >60 years old, 83.3% Caucasian, 53.3% with pre-primary education and/or adult literacy programs, 76.7% catholics and 10.0% live alone. The wound median time was 32 months (58.8 ± 69.7) and all patients pointed pain in the Numeric Pain Intensity Scale (median 8.0). The McGill Pain classes of word descriptors were continuous in 53.3%, persistent in 43.3% and periodic in 40.0%. It was constant in 46.7% and intermittent in 33.3%. Patients living alone had longest wound time (p = 0.03). Read and write patients had bigger sensory pain score (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Pain was present in all patients of this study and there were associations from McGill Pain descriptors, gender and education level.