Pain management challenges in cancer patients receiving palliative care

Introduction: Pain is one of the big issues most cancer patients are frequently suffering from. Managing the severe pain is vital, especially through palliative care, and some studies are running about controlling the pain and approaches to providing pain relief for end-stage cancer patient. Methods: A systematic search was carried out in databases such as PubMed and Scopus, utilizing keywords such as “Pain management,” “Palliative care,” “Cancer,” “supportive care,” and “Opioids.”Results: Analgesic drugs administered orally or parenterally in the patients were the key to managing pain. Non-opioid analgesics alone were efficient in ۱۰% and combination with weak opioids in ۱۵% of the patients. It was reported that in ۶۸% of patients, strong opioids were essential to reduce the pain and morphine is the most frequently used opioid for end-stage patients. Additional adjuvant drugs to treat specific types of pain or other symptoms of cancer disease were used for ۸۰% of the patients (۱). Although opioids are generally useful, they have side effects that may restrict their ability to be treated, as well as an increased risk of developing opioid use disorder, a continuous intake of opioids that results in marked clinical effects or diminished functioning. Conclusion: Diagnosing and treating opioid use disorder is a challenge in treating cancer patients receiving palliative care. Thus, opioids should be used cautiously with a good strategy to reveal the pain without impairing the body’s function (۲, ۳).

کلیدواژه ها:

Pain ، Cancer ، Palliate care ، Opioid use disorder