The Influence of Culture on Analgesic Consumption: A Retrospective Study among Malaysian Patients after Breast Cancer Surgery

Salimah Japar,Soh Kim Geok,Soh Kim Lam,Rosna Abdul Raman

doi:10.4236/jbm.2015.33003

Salimah Japar, Soh Kim Geok + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4236/jbm.2015.33003

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Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the relationship between ethnicity/culture and analgesic consumption among patients from three main ethnic groups in Malaysia after breast cancer surgery. A retrospective study design was adopted, using medical records of 80 patients. The findings showed that the analgesic most consumed by the patients during the 48 hour post-operative period was morphine equivalents (85%), followed by non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (60%) and paracetamol (38%). No relationship was found between ethnicity/culture and the type or amount of analgesic consumption.

Highlights

Past studies on culture and pain have revealed disparities in pain management practices, concerning analgesic prescriptions among minority groups [1]-[3]
A retrospective cohort study conducted in a hospital emergency department in Atlanta disclosed that only 57% of African American patients received adequate analgesia compared to 74% of White American patients (p = 0.01) [3]
This study found that even after controlling variables such as insurance status and total time in the emergency department, the African Americans remained identifiable as a group that received less analgesia in the emergency department [3]

Summary

Introduction

Past studies on culture and pain have revealed disparities in pain management practices, concerning analgesic prescriptions among minority groups [1]-[3]. This study found that even after controlling variables such as insurance status and total time in the emergency department, the African Americans remained identifiable as a group that received less analgesia in the emergency department [3]. Another retrospective study was carried out among post-abdominal surgical patients in Australia to determine. This study did not report any data regarding patients’ pain intensity levels which might account for the differences in PCA prescription and administration. In a study by Todd et al [3], no pain levels were measured and used to describe the patients’ pain condition, which might have influenced analgesic prescriptions

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