Chinical diagnosis and therapy of breakthrough pain in cancer patients

Abstract

Blackground Breakthrough pain (BTP) is a transient exacerbation of pain with moderate and severe intensity and has high incidence in patients with cancer. Breakthrough pain lacks a consensus international definition and diagnosis standard,and clinical treatment of which is subsequently inadequate. Therefore it is difficult to manage breakthrough pain in patients with cancer. Objective This article is to summed up the newest development about the diagnosis and treatment of breakthrough pain in order to provide the evidence for clinical management. Content The diagnosis of breakthrough pain includes definition,epidemiology, classification and evaluation. However, management of breakthrough pain involves pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatment. Trend The most common therapy of breakthrough pain is administration of short and quick analgesics. However, the ideal management of breakthrough pain may require a combination of pharmacological with nonpharmacological treatment strategies. Key words: Cancer; Breakthrough pain; Diagnosis; Management