The Role of Family Medicine From Bone Pain to Multiple Myeloma

Gülden Si̇ncan, Suat Si̇ncan

Aim:

Multiple myeloma is a disease that characterized by increased clonal plasma cells. It constitutes 1% of all cancers and 10% of hematological cancers. Early diagnosis of multiple myeloma is important for prevent morbidity and mortality. The most common symptom in multiple myeloma is bone pain and it occurs in 70% of cases.

Method:

This study was conducted in 170 multiple myeloma patients. The records of all cases were analyzed retrospectively and age, sex, the level of hemoglobin, sedimentation rate, creatine, admission status and complaints at the time of admission to primary care doctor were recorded.

Results:

94 (56.47 %) cases were male and 74 (43.52 %) cases were female of all patients and the mean age of all patients 52±15 years. 50 (29.4 %) patients applied to primary care doctors before applying to our clinic. 37 (74 %) patients had bone pain, 36 (72 %) patients had fatigue, 8 (16 %) patients had weight loss at the time of admission to family health center. In addition, 37 (74 %) cases had anemia, 26 (52 %) cases had high sedimentation rate and 12 (24 %) cases had high creatine level. Thirty eight (76 %) cases of these patients were referred to our clinic with suspicion of multiple myeloma disease from primary care doctors.

Conclusions:

Bone pain and fatigue are common reasons for admission to family physicians. These complaints can be a sign of multiple myeloma. In addition; anemia, high sedimentation rate, and high creatine levels are common in patients with multiple myeloma. As a result, multiple myeloma can be diagnosed at an early stage in family medicine practice by performing detailed anamnesis and simple and accessible laboratory tests.

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