Distinct Worst Pain Profiles in Oncology Outpatients Undergoing Chemotherapy.
Joosun Shin, Kate Oppegaard, Alejandra Calvo-Schimmel and 9 others
PMID 35439202WHAT IT FOUND
Among chemotherapy outpatients who reported pain, 42.6% had severe worst pain.
That group had more comorbidities, higher stress, worse symptoms, and lower pain satisfaction, so assess cancer and non-cancer pain separately.
Key findings
01In 934 patients who reported pain, the severe worst-pain profile was the largest group at 42.6%, followed by moderate at 39.9% and mild at 17.5%.
02The severe class reported higher stress and worse co-occurring symptoms than the mild and moderate classes.
03The severe class was less likely to be satisfied with pain management, and percentage relief from medication did not differ among classes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was limited to English-speaking adults with breast, gastrointestinal, gynecological, or lung cancer receiving chemotherapy at selected oncology sites, so results may not apply to other cancers, patients who cannot read English, or more diverse racial and ethnic groups. Patients were not followed from before chemotherapy through completion of treatment, so the study cannot show how pain profiles or stress and symptoms change over time. Detailed causes of cancer pain and analgesic prescriptions were not available, so the study cannot explain why some patients had severe pain or whether undertreatment caused low relief. Missing data were not adjusted for, and sample sizes varied by question, which can reduce confidence in some comparisons. The study reports associations from self-reported pain and questionnaires, not evidence that any intervention reduced pain or improved function.
Declared interests
No author conflict-of-interest declaration appears in the supplied article text. The publication types list NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 82.5% figure as the proportion of all chemotherapy patients with moderate-to-severe pain. It applies to the 934 patients who reported pain; 28.4% of the 1305-patient study did not report pain.