TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluating pain management practices for cancer patients among health professionals in cancer and supportive/palliative care units
T2 - a Belgian survey
AU - Fontaine, Christel
AU - Libert, Isabelle
AU - Echterbille, Marie-Aline
AU - Bonhomme, Vincent
AU - Botterman, Jacky
AU - Bourgonjon, Bram
AU - Brouillard, Vincent
AU - Courtin, Yannick
AU - De Buck, Joke
AU - Debruyne, Philip R
AU - Delaat, Martine
AU - Delperdange, Jean-Michel
AU - Duck, Lionel
AU - Everaert, Els
AU - Lamot, Caroline
AU - Holbrechts, Stéphane
AU - Lossignol, Dominique
AU - Krekelbergh, Francis
AU - Langenaeken, Christine
AU - Lapeire, Lore
AU - Naert, Eline
AU - Lauwers, Koen
AU - Matic, Milica
AU - Mebis, Jeroen
AU - Miedema, Geertje
AU - Pieterbourg, Michèle
AU - Plehiers, Barbara
AU - Punie, Kevin
AU - Roblain, Françoise
AU - Schrijvers, Dirk
AU - Serre, Charles-Henri
AU - Vandenborre, Katherine
AU - Broecke, Anne Vanden
AU - Van den Bulk, Heidi
AU - Vanopdenbosch, Ludo
AU - Van Ryckeghem, Florence
AU - Verheezen, Jolanda
AU - Verschaeve, Vincent
AU - Voordeckers, Mia
AU - Klastersky, Jean
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024.
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - BACKGROUND: Pain is reported in 66% of cancer patients with advanced disease. Adequate pain management is a cornerstone of comprehensive supportive cancer care.PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess pain management in Oncology Units in Belgium.METHODS: A descriptive research design was applied. A structured questionnaire developed by a writing committee was sent to 37 healthcare professionals in 2021. Twenty-four replied.RESULTS: In most centers, pain management is organized through the pain clinic (91.7%), followed by a multidisciplinary team (83.3%) and the palliative care unit (75%). Eighty-seven percent use tools to assess the pain, mostly for in-patients. Pain guidelines are applied in 17 centers with the ESMO guidelines being the most often mentioned. Mild to moderate pain is managed with paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and tramadol. All centers handle severe pain with strong opioids, including buprenorphine and fentanyl. Only 62% are concerned about the side effects of strong opioids. In case of neuropathic pain, treatments with pregabalin, gabapentine, and tricyclic antidepressants are the most common, followed by opioids and interventional therapies for refractory neuropathic pain. Asking advice to the pain clinic, combination therapy and opioid rotation are used for patients with inadequate analgesia. Eighty to 90% of the centers have access to intraspinal and epidural techniques, respectively. An active teaching program on pain relief is offered in 66%, but only 33% of the centers do active research focused on pain management.CONCLUSIONS: This is the first survey on pain management in the Belgian centers. Surprisingly only one-third of the health professionals ask advice to the pain clinic in case of inadequate pain relief, meaning that we are far away from a multidisciplinary patient-centered approach. Therefore, the BSMO Supportive Care Task Force promotes the development of an interdisciplinary committee in every oncology unit.
AB - BACKGROUND: Pain is reported in 66% of cancer patients with advanced disease. Adequate pain management is a cornerstone of comprehensive supportive cancer care.PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess pain management in Oncology Units in Belgium.METHODS: A descriptive research design was applied. A structured questionnaire developed by a writing committee was sent to 37 healthcare professionals in 2021. Twenty-four replied.RESULTS: In most centers, pain management is organized through the pain clinic (91.7%), followed by a multidisciplinary team (83.3%) and the palliative care unit (75%). Eighty-seven percent use tools to assess the pain, mostly for in-patients. Pain guidelines are applied in 17 centers with the ESMO guidelines being the most often mentioned. Mild to moderate pain is managed with paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and tramadol. All centers handle severe pain with strong opioids, including buprenorphine and fentanyl. Only 62% are concerned about the side effects of strong opioids. In case of neuropathic pain, treatments with pregabalin, gabapentine, and tricyclic antidepressants are the most common, followed by opioids and interventional therapies for refractory neuropathic pain. Asking advice to the pain clinic, combination therapy and opioid rotation are used for patients with inadequate analgesia. Eighty to 90% of the centers have access to intraspinal and epidural techniques, respectively. An active teaching program on pain relief is offered in 66%, but only 33% of the centers do active research focused on pain management.CONCLUSIONS: This is the first survey on pain management in the Belgian centers. Surprisingly only one-third of the health professionals ask advice to the pain clinic in case of inadequate pain relief, meaning that we are far away from a multidisciplinary patient-centered approach. Therefore, the BSMO Supportive Care Task Force promotes the development of an interdisciplinary committee in every oncology unit.
KW - Humans
KW - Belgium
KW - Palliative Care/methods
KW - Pain Management/methods
KW - Cancer Pain/therapy
KW - Surveys and Questionnaires
KW - Neoplasms/complications
KW - Practice Patterns, Physicians'/statistics & numerical data
KW - Health Personnel
KW - Practice Guidelines as Topic
KW - Pain Measurement/methods
KW - Analgesics/therapeutic use
KW - Analgesics, Opioid/therapeutic use
KW - Male
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85209721841&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00520-024-08984-4
DO - 10.1007/s00520-024-08984-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 39567437
VL - 32
JO - Supportive Care in Cancer
JF - Supportive Care in Cancer
SN - 0941-4355
IS - 12
M1 - 811
ER -