Pain Assessment in Pediatric Patients with Primary Bone Cancer in a Single Site Cohort

Abstract

Introduction: Pain is the main symptom described in cancer patients. Objective: To assess pain classification and management in pediatric patients with primary bone cancer over time: admission, during treatment and follow-up, and to investigate factors associated with pain classification at the last assessment. Method: Retrospective cohort study of osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma cases in individuals <19 years old treated at a single cancer referral site and followed up by a multidisciplinary team. The primary endpoint was pain score at the last assessment. Secondary outcome: evolution of pharmacological treatment. Results: 142 patients were included. The frequency of pain assessment increased during the study period from 53.5% at admission to 68.3% during treatment and 85.9% in follow-up. Of the patients who had pain assessed, 65.8% had pain at admission and 26.2% at the end of the study. There was an increase in the use of strong opioids and antidepressants. In the last evaluation, 56 patients (39.4%) were at the end-of-life and this was not associated with more pain (p=0.68). Meanwhile, those who had more pain used strong opioids (p=0.01) or steroids (p=0.03). Conclusion: Pain management during treatment resulted in increased use of strong opioids and antidepressants with pain reduction, revealing that pain control is possible. In the last assessment, end-of-life patients no longer had pain and patients with pain were the ones who used strong opioids and steroids at the most, showing the difficulty of pain control in some patients.