Study Assesses Differences in Physician and Patient Pain Assessments

CHICAGO, Jan. 22, 2014 — Despite the availability of effective pain control guidelines, sub-optimal pain management is still reported in about 42 percent of oncology patients. Pain, therefore, remains one of the most prevalent and feared symptoms of cancer.

Italian researchers writing in The Journal of Pain compared physician pain assessments with evaluations by patients with cancer. They covered incident/breakthrough pain, neuropathic pain and psychological distress. Most of the evidence in previous studies showed medium to low concordance between physicians and patients in their pain-intensity ratings.

The authors reported that patient-structured self assessments of incident/breakthrough pain, neuropathic pain and psychological distress provide more accurate classification for cancer pain than physician clinical assessments. The authors noted that the study results support development of a classification system for cancer pain and indicate that patients’ self assessment of subjective symptoms using simple standardized and validated tools should be integrated in future pain classification systems.

About the American Pain Society

Based in Chicago, the American Pain Society (APS) is a multidisciplinary community that brings together a diverse group of scientists, clinicians and other professionals to increase the knowledge of pain and transform public policy and clinical practice to reduce pain-related suffering. APS was founded in 1978 with 510 charter members. From the outset, the group was conceived as a multidisciplinary organization. The Board of Directors includes physicians, nurses, psychologists, basic scientists, pharmacists, policy analysts and others. For more information on APS, visit www.americanpainsociety.org.