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Cancer pain management at a tertiary care cancer center in India—A retrospective analysis of 3,238 patients

Sushma Bhatnagar, MD, Seema Mishra, MD, Madhurima Srikanti, MD, Deepak Gupta, MD

Abstract


Effective pain control is essential for the management of patients with cancer. About 70-80 percent of patients with cancer present in an advanced stage of disease. Patients with advanced cancer frequently experience intractable pain, with diverse symptoms that can make daily living impossible and affect the quality of life. This article reports the management of 3,238 patients with cancer pain over a period of five years. Nearly 89.6 percent patients had good pain relief, with Visual Analogue Scale score less than 3. These promising results were achieved by careful patient assessment, close liaison with clinicians from other specialties, and using a variety of analgesic regimen including oral analgesics, anesthetic procedures, psychological interventions, and supportive care. However, the main stay of treatment was oral analgesics, following the principles of World Health Organization ladder, with continuing follow-up.

Keywords


cancer pain management, WHO analgesic ladder, opioids

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5055/jom.2008.0040

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