Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24705857›Full record

Observational studySupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2014

Does a regional comprehensive palliative care program improve pain in outpatient cancer patients?

Tatsuya Morita, Kazuki Sato, Mitsunori Miyashita, Akemi Yamagishi, Yoshiyuki Kizawa, Yasuo Shima, Hiroya Kinoshita, Satoshi Suzuki, Yutaka Shirahige, Takuhiro Yamaguchi and 1 more

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.7field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 9 institutions in 1 country.

Tatsuya MoritaDepartment of Palliative and Supportive Care, Palliative Care Team, and Seirei Hospice, Seirei Mikatahara General Hospital, 3453 Mikatahara-cho, Kita-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, 433-8558, Japan, tmorita@sis.seirei.or.jp.
Kazuki Sato
Mitsunori Miyashita
Akemi Yamagishi
Yoshiyuki Kizawa
Yasuo Shima
Hiroya Kinoshita
Satoshi Suzuki
Yutaka Shirahige
Takuhiro Yamaguchi
Kenji Eguchi
Tohoku University · JPHamamatsu University School of Medicine · JPKobe University · JPMunicipal Tsuruga Hospital · JPNagasaki Ajisai Hospital · JPNational Cancer Center Hospital East · JPSeirei Mikatabara General Hospital · JPTeikyo University · JPTsukuba Medical Center Hospital · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

contextPain is still a major problem for cancer patients, and the effect of a population-based approach on patients' experience of pain is not fully understood.

aimsThe primary aim of this study was to clarify the changes in pain intensity in outpatients before and after a regional palliative care program. The secondary aim was to clarify the prevalence of patients who had unmet needs for pain treatment and to clarify the reasons for not wanting pain treatment. SUBJECTS AND

methodsA regional palliative care program was implemented in four regions of Japan. A region-representative sample of metastatic/locally advanced cancer patients in outpatient settings took part in questionnaire surveys before and after the regional intervention. Responses were obtained from 859 from 1,880 and 857 from 2,123 in the preintervention and postintervention surveys, respectively.

resultsAfter a regional palliative care program, neither worst, average, nor least pain levels in outpatients changed significantly. A total of 134 patients (16 %) reported that they needed more pain treatment. There were various reasons for not wanting pain treatment, namely, minimum interference with daily life, general nonpreference for medicines, longstanding symptoms before the diagnosis of cancer, concerns about tolerance and addiction, and experienced neuropsychiatric symptoms under current medications.

conclusionThe regional palliative care program failed to demonstrate improvement of the pain intensity of cancer outpatients. One possible interpretation is that they are less likely to be regarded as target populations and that the study population experienced generally well-controlled pain. Future study including patients with more severe pain is needed, but to improve pain levels of cancer outpatients, intensive, patient-directed intervention seems to be more promising than region-based intervention.

Indexed as

Comprehensive Health CareHealth Services Needs and DemandPain ManagementAdultAgedAged, 80 and overCommunity Health ServicesFemaleHumansJapanMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasmsOutpatientsPainPain Measurement

Identifiers

PMID24705857
OpenAlexW2168077641

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.