title: Prevalence and management of cancer pain in Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cancer pain remains an invisible problem in cancer care and our study aimed to document its prevalence, characteristics, and patterns of management at a tertiary care teaching hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive, prospective, cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited 335 consecutive adult patients diagnosed with cancers, admitted to Srinagarind Hospital, between February and April 2004. All of the participants were interviewed, and their pain evaluated by direct assessment using a numeric rating scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall prevalence of cancer pain prior to admission was 56.5%, and within the first 24 hours of admission 41.5%. Three-quarters (74%) of patients with pain reported improvement; however one-third of those with pain never received any pain control intervention. Moreover; about half of those with persistent pain only received treatment by requesting it and then only received simple analgesics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cancer pain remains under-detected and under-treated in many patients. Pain monitoring on a regular basis as well as a training program on pain management should be considered as first-line tools for improving pain control among cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department Of Otolaryngology, Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand. patvat@kku.ac.th
authors.forename: Patravoot
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vatanasapt
authors.forename: Sunee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lertsinudom
authors.forename: Aumkhae
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sookprasert
authors.forename: Anakapong
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Phunmanee
authors.forename: Nutjaree
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pratheepawanit
authors.forename: Sirintip
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wattanaudomrot
authors.forename: Ubol
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Juangpanich
authors.forename: Tatiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Treapkhuntong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics