Knee pain as the reason for encounter in general practice.

Area of Science:

• General Practice
• Musculoskeletal Health
• Pain Management

Background:

• Limited data exists on knee pain management within general practitioner (GP) settings.
• Understanding consultation prevalence and management strategies is crucial for improving patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the prevalence of knee pain consultations in primary care.
• To analyze accompanying symptoms, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and outcomes for knee pain patients.
• To identify factors associated with knee pain in a general practice population.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional data collected from the SESAM 2 study over one year.
• Comparison with publicly available data from the Dutch Transition Project.
• Analysis of patient demographics, symptoms, procedures, and diagnoses related to knee pain.

Main Results:

• Knee pain consultations occurred in 1.4% (SESAM 2) and 4.5% (Dutch Transition Project) of patients.
• Common procedures included drug prescription, follow-up, advice, and referrals.
• Osteoarthritis and other musculoskeletal diseases were frequent diagnoses; overweight, age, gender, and comorbidities were associated with knee pain.

Conclusions:

• Knee pain in general practice is predominantly associated with chronic musculoskeletal conditions.
• Severe outcomes such as fractures or thrombosis are infrequent.
• Further research is required to mitigate the impact of knee pain on patients' daily lives.