Eli Lilly: Diabetes patients not getting appropriate pain care

Eli Lilly has announced the results of a survey of doctors treating diabetes patients. The questionnaire of 600 physicians involved in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain revealed that 97 per cent believed that diabetic nerve pain is often misdiagnosed.

According to the survey, 62 per cent of physicians believe new guidelines for the tracking of diabetic nerve pain available for patients would improve diagnosis of the condition, while 81 per cent want to find new methods of discussing the condition with their patients.

In response, Lilly and the National Pain Foundation (NPF) have launched an educational programme entitled Talk Beyond Pain: Understanding Diabetic Nerve Pain in an attempt to grant sufferers the sufficient information to communicate their sensations to physicians.

Dr Albert Ray, chairman of the board of the NPF, commented that there is not at present a single test that can perfectly diagnose diabetic peripheral neuropahtic pain.

“Without a comprehensive understanding of what patients are feeling and experiencing, including the painful physical symptoms and their impact on daily living, it can be easy to misdiagnose diabetic nerve pain and prescribe inappropriate or inadequate treatment,” he said.

He added that physicians should speak more often with their patients regarding any diabetic nerve pain they may be experiencing and recommended the introduction of improved guidance to improve patient care.

In November 2006, MSD reported that Byetta (exenatide) had been granted approval for the treatment of type two diabetes by the European Commission.