Trajectories and predictors of High-Occurrence pain flares in ambulatory cancer patients on opioids
Menée à partir de données portant sur 270 patients atteints d'un cancer traité en ambulatoire, cette étude de cohorte prospective analyse la fréquence des poussées de douleur et identifie les facteurs prédictifs
Background: Pain flares have a substantive impact on the quality of life and well-being of patients with cancer. We identified longitudinal trajectories (clusters) of cancer pain flares in ambulatory patients and sociodemographic and clinical predictors of these trajectories. Methods: In a prospective cohort study using ecological momentary assessment (mEMA), we collected patient-reported daily pain flare ratings data over 5 months and identified predictors and correlates using validated measures. Results: Mean age of the sample (N = 270) was 60.9 years (SD = 11.2), 64.8% were females, and 32.6% self-identified as African American. Four pain flare clusters were identified. The ‘high-occurrence’ cluster (23% of patients) experienced 5.5 (SD, 5.47) daily flares, while low-moderate clusters (77%) reported 2.4 (SD, 2.74) daily flares (p < .000). Those in the high-occurrence cluster reported higher pain scores (p = .000), increased pain-related interference (p = .000), depressive symptoms (p = .023), lower quality of life (p = .001), and reduced pain self-efficacy (p = .006). Notably, 67.2% of those prescribed opioids as-needed (PRN-only) were in the high-occurrence pain flare cluster, compared to 27.9% with PRN and around-the-clock opioid prescriptions (p = .024). Individual predictors of high-occurrence pain flares were income below $30,000, unemployment, being African American, lower education level, Medicaid insurance, current opioid misuse (COMM), baseline inpatient hospital stay duration, and PRN-only opioid regimen. In the multiple predictor model, lower education level, unemployment, COMM score, extended inpatient duration, and PRN-only opioid regimen remained significant. Conclusions: In ambulatory patients with cancer, high-occurrence of pain flares may be mitigated by attention to opioid prescription factors and addressing SDoH needs of underserved patients.
JNCI Cancer Spectrum 2024