Volume 6 (2019): Issue 1 (January 2019)

In tropical countries such as Nigeria, where factor VIII (FVIII) is scarce, severe pain due to musculoskeletal bleeding complications, leading to frequent opioid prescription, is not uncommon in poorly managed people with haemophilia (PWH). The relationship between opioid use and dependence is intensively studied in other painful diseases, such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, but surprisingly little is known about opioid dependence in haemophilia. We hypothesise that the risk of opioid dependence among PWH in tropical countries like Nigeria is multi-factorial, encompassing demographic (age), clinical (haemophilia severity and chronic arthropathy) and biological (ABO blood groups and haemoglobin (Hb) phenotypes) factors that may directly or indirectly increase incidence of bleeding and/or pain.

To determine the prevalence of opioid dependence and relative risks (RR) associated with age, haemophilia severity, chronic arthropathy, ABO blood groups and Hb phenotypes, and to elucidate the pathophysiological roles of each risk factor in the development of opioid dependence among haemophilia-A patients in five hospitals in northern Nigeria.

A retrospective review of the medical records of 88 PWH seen between 1996 and 2012 was used to collate data on age, sex, haemophilia severity, painful chronic haemophilic arthropathy, ABO blood group, haemoglobin phenotypes, presence or absence of opioid dependence, and the types of opioids on which the patients were dependent. The prevalence of opioid dependence among the cohort was expressed as a percentage. The frequency of each putative risk factor for opioid dependence in patients with and without opioid dependence were compared using Fisher’s exact test; RR associated with each risk factor was determined by regression analysis. P<0.05 was taken as significant.

Of the 88 PWH studied,15 (17%) were shown to be opioid-dependent. Compared with PWH who were not opioid-dependent, this group had higher frequencies of severe haemophilia (86.7% vs. 49.3%: RR= 5.2, p=0.02), survival to adulthood (73.3% vs. 12.3%: RR= 9.5, p=0.0001), chronic arthropathy in one or more joints (86.7% vs. 21.9%: RR= 13.2, p=0.0004), blood group-O (80% vs. 49.3%: RR= 3.3, p=0.04), and HbAA phenotype (86.7% vs. 54.8%: RR= 4.3, p=0.04).

Prevalence of opioid dependence among PWH treated at five hospitals in northern Nigeria was 17% during the study period. Significant risk factors were directly or indirectly associated with increased rates of bleeding and/or pain, which can only be prevented or treated through optimal application of FVIII. There is a need for the Nigerian government to establish standard haemophilia care centres with adequate FVIII for optimal prophylaxis and treatment in order to minimise painful complications, thereby helping to prevent undue opioid use and dependence.

In patients with haemophilia, evidence suggests that the physical examination alone is not sensitive enough to detect small amounts of blood within a joint. Attention has shifted to methods of improving the sensitivity of the physical examination through adding diagnostic modalities such as point-of-care ultrasonography (POC-US). Proficiency with the physical examination and understanding of the role of POC-US are important competencies for physiotherapists. Despite training, implementation of POC-US by physiotherapists in haemophilia treatment centres in Canada has been mixed.

Using a theory-based approach, the aim of the current study is to achieve expert consensus regarding the barriers to physiotherapy performed POC-US in haemophilia treatment centres in Canada using a modified Delphi approach.

Using the Knowledge-to-Action Framework and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR), a modified Delphi approach was completed using the Modified BARRIERS Scale (MBS). Participants were blinded and consensus was reached over three rounds at the Canadian Hemophilia Society’s annual three-day conference.

Twenty-two physiotherapists participated; 20 participants completed Round 1, and 21 completed Rounds 2 and 3. Four items of the MBS reached consensus: 1) The physiotherapist does not have time to read research related to POC-US; 2) The physiotherapist is isolated from knowledgeable colleagues with whom to discuss POC-US; 3) Administration will not allow POC-US implementation; 4) There is insufficient time on the job to implement new ideas. All four consensus items can be mapped to one domain of the CFIR: the inner setting.

The haemophilia treatment centre within a healthcare organisation appears to be an important target for addressing barriers to the implementation of physiotherapy performed POC-US.

Patients with haemophilia have a higher prevalence of hypertension than the general population that cannot be explained by traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as age, race, diabetes or obesity. Patients with severe haemophilia, who are on clotting factor prophylaxis, have a higher prevalence of hypertension compared to patients with milder forms of haemophilia, who infuse clotting factor less frequently. This raises the question of whether there is a link between clotting factor usage and blood pressure in haemophilia patients.

Data was collected from 193 patients with severe haemophilia presenting to three haemophilia treatment centres in the United States and Canada, including age, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), Hepatitis C (HCV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection status, and clotting factor usage from pharmacy prescriptions (units/kg/year). The correlation between BP and factor usage was examined using quantile regression models.

Systolic and diastolic BP plotted against factor use showed a cone-shaped scatter of points. There was no association between clotting factor usage and higher systolic or diastolic BP.

Our observations provide no evidence for an association between increased clotting factor usage and high BP.