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  1. Thinh DHQ, Sriraj W, Mansor M, Tan KH, Irawan C, Kurnianda J, et al.
    J Glob Oncol, 2018 09;4:1-10.
    PMID: 30241271 DOI: 10.1200/JGO.17.00055
    PURPOSE: To 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).

    METHODS: This 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.

    RESULTS: Most 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.

    CONCLUSION: Despite 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.

    Matched MeSH terms: Cancer Pain/drug therapy*
  2. Zin CS, Rahman NA, Ismail CR, Choy LW
    Pain Pract, 2017 07;17(6):774-781.
    PMID: 27676695 DOI: 10.1111/papr.12525
    BACKGROUND: There are currently limited data available on the patterns of opioid prescribing in Malaysia. This study investigated the patterns of opioid prescribing and characterized the dosing and duration of opioid use in patients with noncancer and cancer pain.
    METHODS: This retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at an outpatient hospital setting in Malaysia. All prescriptions for opioids (dihydrocodeine, fentanyl, morphine, and oxycodone) issued between January 2013 and December 2014 were examined. The number of prescriptions and patients, the distribution of mean daily dose, annual total days covered with opioids, and annual total opioid dose at the individual level were calculated and stratified by noncancer and cancer groups.
    RESULTS: A total of 1015 opioid prescriptions were prescribed for 347 patients from 2013 to 2014. Approximately 41.5% of patients (N = 144/347) and 58.5% (N = 203/347) were associated with noncancer and cancer diagnosis, respectively. Oxycodone (38.0%) was the highest prescribed primarily for the noncancer group. The majority of patients in both noncancer (74.3%) and cancer (60.4%) groups were receiving mean daily doses of < 50 mg morphine equivalents. The chronic use of opioids (> 90 days per year) was associated with 21.8% of patients in the noncancer group and 17.5% in the cancer group.
    CONCLUSIONS: The finding from this study showed that 41.5% of opioid users at an outpatient hospital setting in Malaysia received opioids for noncancer pain and 21.8% of these users were using opioids for longer than 90 days. The average daily dose in the majority of patients in both groups of noncancer and cancer was modest.
    Study site: outpatient clinic, hospital, Malaysia
    Matched MeSH terms: Cancer Pain/drug therapy*
  3. Andrew BN, Guan NC, Jaafar NRN
    Curr Drug Targets, 2018;19(8):877-887.
    PMID: 28322161 DOI: 10.2174/1389450118666170317162603
    BACKGROUND: One of the goals of cancer treatment is symptoms management especially at the end stage. The common symptoms in cancer include pain, fatigue, depression and cognitive dysfunction. The available treatment options for symptom management are limited. Methylphenidate, a psychostimulant, may be of benefit for these patients. In this report, we review the use of methylphenidate for symptoms control in cancer patients.

    METHOD: Electronic literature search on PubMed was conducted using the following keywords: methylphenidate, cancer, carcinoma, oncology, oncological and tumour. We identified forty two relevant studies and publications on the use of methylphenidate in cancer patients to be included in this review.

    RESULTS: Methylphenidate was found to have some evidence in reducing opioid-induced sedation, improving cognitive symptoms and reduction of fatigue in cancer patients. Nevertheless, the results were inconsistent due to variations in the study populations, study design and outcome measures, among others. There was minimal evidence on its use in treating depression. Otherwise, methylphenidate was generally well-tolerated by patients.

    CONCLUSION: This review potentially supports the use of methylphenidate for opioid-induced sedation, cognitive decline and fatigue in cancer patients. Further placebo-controlled trials would help in strengthening the evidence for this treatment.

    Matched MeSH terms: Cancer Pain/drug therapy
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