Management of cancer pain

Abstract:

Pain is a symptom appearing in a high proportion of cancer patients. It is estimated that at first diagnosis of cancer 30-45% of patients are feeling pain. This proportion increases to 50% upon treatment installation and reaches 75% after disease is advanced. Not relieved pain induces in the patient anxiety, fear, depression and death proximity feeling. Clinical studies reveal that properly managed pain can be relieved in 75-90%; however, some statistics show that 25% of patients die without pain control. Pain control is a highly important part of oncologic patient's treatment, besides psychological, social and spiritual measures influencing pain perception. All those aspects account for the necessity of a multiciplinary team to work out pain. There are guidelines for adequate pain control, pain syndromes, basic concepts about pain to advance a diagnosis, pain classification, pain patient evaluation and its proper treatment.

Año de publicación:

2006

Keywords:

• Opioids
• Analgesic ladder
• Oncologic pain

Fuente:

scopus