Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38830349›Full record

ArticleThe American journal of hospice & palliative care2025

Dangerous Variation or Patient-Centered Care? Palliative Care and Pain Providers' Comfort, Experiences, and Approaches when Treating Cancer Pain With Coexisting Aberrant Behaviors.

Rachel A Hadler, Rachel Klinedinst, Christopher A Jones, Yuhua Bao, Ravi Pathak, Ali J Zarrabi, William E Rosa

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The American journal of hospice & palliative care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

7 authors.

Rachel A HadlerDepartment of Anesthesiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8954-0297
Rachel KlinedinstPalliative Care Alliance, Department of Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Christopher A JonesPalliative Care Program, Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Yuhua BaoDepartment of Population Health Sciences, Weill-Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Ravi PathakDepartment of Anesthesiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Ali J ZarrabiDivision of Palliative Medicine, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
William E RosaDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0680-8911

Funding

X-RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHYP30CA008748 · NCI · SLOAN-KETTERING INSTITUTE FOR CANCER RES · PI SELWYN M VICKERS · 1985 to 2026
$347.4M
Opioid Treatment of Pain in People with Cancer: Intended and unintended consequences of state policies addressing opioid prescribingR01CA267996 · NCI · WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV · PI BAO, YUHUA · 2022 to 2025
$1.5M
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA008748NCI NIH HHS R01 CA267996
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BackgroundPatients with cancer-related pain are at high risk for aberrant drug use behaviors (ADB), including self-escalation, diversion and concurrent illicit substance or opioid misuse; however, limited evidence is available to guide opioid prescribing for patients with life-limiting illness and concurrent or suspected ADB. We sought to characterize how specialists evaluate for and manage these high-risk behaviors in patients with cancer-related pain.MethodsWe conducted telephonic semi-structured interviews with palliative care and pain medicine providers. Participants discussed their own comfort and experience level with identifying and managing ADB in patients with life-limiting illness. They were subsequently presented with a series of standardized scenarios and asked to describe their concerns and management strategies.Results95 interdisciplinary pain and palliative care specialists were contacted; 37 agreed to participate (38.9%). Analysis of interview contents revealed several central themes: (1) widespread discomfort and anxiety regarding safe and compassionate opioid prescribing for high-risk patients, (2) belief that widely used risk-mitigation tools such as opioid contracts and urine drug screens provided inadequate support for decision-making, and (3) lack of institutional and organizational support and guidance for safe prescribing strategies. Most clinicians reported self-education regarding addiction and alternative prescribing/pain management strategies. Providers varied widely in their willingness to discontinue opioid prescribing in a patient with aberrant behavior and pain associated with life-limiting illness.ConclusionProviders caring for patients demonstrating ADB and cancer-related pain struggle to balance safe prescribing with symptom management. Increased guidance is needed regarding opioid prescribing, monitoring, and discontinuation in high-risk patients.

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidCancer PainOpioid-Related DisordersPalliative CarePatient-Centered CareAdultAttitude of Health PersonnelFemaleHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedPain ManagementQualitative ResearchAnalgesics, Opioidcancer painopioid epidemicopioid prescribingopioid use disorderpractice patternssubstance use disorder

Identifiers

PMID38830349
PMCPMC11612028

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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.