Observational studyJournal of global oncology2018
Analgesic Prescription Patterns and Pain Outcomes in Southeast Asia: Findings From the Analgesic Treatment of Cancer Pain in Southeast Asia Study.
Observational study in Journal of global oncology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Prevalence of psychological distress among cancer patients in Southeast Asian countries: A systematic review.European journal of cancer care · 2022Pooled it
- Phase III study of bilayer sustained-release tramadol tablets in patients with cancer pain: a double-blind parallel-group, non-inferiority study with immediate-release tramadol capsules as an active comparator.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Trial
- Differentiating network structures and sex differences of pain-related outcomes, analgesic opioid dosages, and psychosocial factors for postoperative management: a study of PAIN OUT registry in seven Asian regions.Global health research and policy · 2025Article
- Pain and Its Treatment Among Outpatients with Malignant Tumors in China.Cancer management and research · 2025Article
- Updated epidemiology of gastrointestinal cancers in East Asia.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2023Review
- Review
- Prescribing Pattern of Analgesics in Colombia. Are there Differences between Capital Cities and Municipalities? A Cross-Sectional Study.Drugs - real world outcomes · 2022Article
- A Cross-Sectional Web-Based Survey of Medical Practitioners in India to Assess their Knowledge, Attitude, Prescription Practices, and Barriers toward Opioid Analgesic Prescriptions.Indian journal of palliative careArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeTo identify patterns of analgesic prescription and to explore patient-reported pain intensity, sleep disturbance, and quality of life among cancer patients with pain in Southeast Asia (SEA).
methodsThis cross-sectional observational study included 465 adult outpatients prescribed analgesics for cancer pain for 1 month or longer at 22 sites in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Data on analgesic prescription and cancer characteristics were extracted from medical records. Pain intensity, sleep disturbance, and quality of life measures were recorded via questionnaires.
resultsMost patients (84.4%) had stage III or IV cancer. A total of 419 patients (90.7%) were prescribed opioids; of these, 42.2% received only weak opioids, whereas 57.8% received at least one strong opioid. The mean worst pain intensity during the past 24 hours was 4.76 (standard deviation [SD], 2.47) on a scale of 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst possible pain); the mean current pain intensity was 4.10 (SD, 2.61). More than half of patients (54.8%) reported sleep disturbance caused by pain in the past 7 days. The majority of patients reported problems with pain/discomfort (82.3%), usual activities (65.8%), mobility (58.2%), and anxiety/depression (56.3%). The median daily dose prescribed in oral morphine equivalents was 30 mg for both morphine and tramadol.
conclusionDespite unrelieved pain, sleep disturbance, and issues with quality of life, a notable proportion of patients were prescribed only weak opioids, and opioid doses prescribed were generally low. Efforts focused on encouragement of prescriptions with analgesic strength and/or doses proportional to the pain management needs of patients are vital to improve the status of cancer pain management in the region.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.