Episodic (Breakthrough) Pain Prevalence in a Population of Cancer Pain Patients. Comparison of Clinical Diagnoses With the QUDEI—Italian Questionnaire for Intense Episodic Pain

Abstract

Because BP-EP is a significant phenomenon in cancer pain management, its appropriate recognition requires a more widely, internationally accepted general definition and specific validated tools for its screening and evaluation.

Relationship between background cancer pain, breakthrough pain, and analgesic treatment: a preliminary study for a better interpretation of epidemiological and clinical studies

“…In some studies, peaks of pain intensity have been reported independently on the analgesic treatment, and in others no clear distinction between background and BTcP pain intensity has been reported [10][11][12][13][14]16,17 . We have previously shown that many studies of BTcP have been performed in patients with uncontrolled background pain.…”

From “Breakthrough” to “Episodic” Cancer Pain? A European Association for Palliative Care Research Network Expert Delphi Survey Toward a Common Terminology and Classification of Transient Cancer Pain Exacerbations

“…Factors other than differences in symptom and disease burden might influence the reported prevalence. These factors include differences in definitions and diagnostic criteria (3,4), and inclusion of patients with poorly controlled background pain (5). …”

Breakthrough pain and its treatment: critical review and recommendations of IOPS (Italian Oncologic Pain Survey) expert group

“…This approach has been largely used in patients' selection in most studies of BTcP. In some epidemiological studies, there was no operational definition a priori, even though patients could have their pain uncontrolled or were not receiving opioids [9,10]. For example, background pain intensity was severe-maximal in more than half of patients, and differently from what has been observed by others [9,11], surprisingly, the intensity of baseline pain was higher in patients without BTcP.…”

“…In some epidemiological studies, there was no operational definition a priori, even though patients could have their pain uncontrolled or were not receiving opioids [9,10]. For example, background pain intensity was severe-maximal in more than half of patients, and differently from what has been observed by others [9,11], surprisingly, the intensity of baseline pain was higher in patients without BTcP. In other studies, most patients had uncontrolled background pain, were receiving nonopioid analgesics or weak opioids, or were unsatisfied with their pain control [11,12].…”