Prevalence of pain and treatment outcomes among cancer patients in a Malaysian palliative care unit

Background: Pain remains one of the most common and debilitating symptoms of advanced cancer. To date, there is a lack of studies on pain and its treatment among Malaysian palliative care patients. Objective: This study aimed to explore the prevalence of pain and its treatment outcomes among adult cancer patients admitted to a palliative care unit in Sabah, Malaysia. Methods: Of 327 patients screened (01/09/15-31/12/17), 151 patients with assessed self-reported pain scores based on the numerical rating scale of 0-10 (current, worst and least pain within the past 24 hours) upon admission (baseline), 24, 48 and 72 hours post-admission and discharge were included. Pain severity and pain score reductions were analysed among those who experienced pain upon admission or in the past 24 hours. Treatment adequacy was measured by the Pain Management Index (PMI) among discharged patients. The PMI was constructed upon worst scores categorised as 0 (no pain), 1 (1-4, mild pain), 2 (5-6, moderate pain), or 3 (7-10, severe pain) which is then subtracted from the most potent level of prescribed analgesic drug scored as 0 (no analgesia), 1 (non-opioid), 2 (weak opioid) or 3 (strong opioid). PMI≥0 indicated adequate treatment. Results: Upon admission, 61.1% [95%CI 0.54:0.69] of 151 patients presented with pain. Of 123 patients who experienced pain upon admission or in the past 24 hours, 82.1% had moderate to severe worst pain. Throughout patients’ ward stay until discharge, there was an increased prescribing of analgesics and adjuvants compared to baseline, excluding weak opioids, with strong opioids as the mainstay treatment. For all pain score types (current, worst and least pain within the past 24 hours), means decreased at each time point (24, 48 and 72 hours post-admission and discharge) from baseline, with a significant decrease at 24 hours post-admission (p<0.001). Upon discharge (n=100), treatment adequacy significantly improved (PMI≥0 100% versus 68% upon admission, p<0.001). Conclusions: Accounting for pain’s dynamic nature, there was a high prevalence of pain among cancer patients in the palliative care unit. Continuous efforts incorporating comprehensive pain assessments, evidence-based treatments and patient education are necessary to provide adequate pain relief and end-of-life comfort care

Failure to replicate the internal structure of Greek-specific thalassemia quality of life instrument in adult thalassemia patients in Sabah

Thamron Keowmani,1 Lily Wong Lee Lee21Clinical Research Centre, 2Hematology Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MalaysiaPurpose: To study the validity and reliability of the Malay version of the Specific Thalassemia Quality of Life Instrument (STQOLI) in Sabah&rsquo;s adult thalassemia patients.Patients and methods: This cross-sectional study was done at Thalassemia Treatment Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Sabah, Malaysia. Eighty-two adult thalassemia patients who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were conveniently selected for participation in the study. The English version of STQOLI was translated into Malay by using forward and back translations. The content of the questionnaire was validated by the chief hematologist of the hospital. The construct validity of the 40-item questionnaire was assessed by principal component analysis with varimax rotation and the scale reliability was assessed by Cronbach&rsquo;s alpha.Results: The study failed to replicate the internal structure of the Greek STQOLI. Instead, 12&nbsp;factors have been identified from the exploratory factor analysis, which accounted for 72.2% of the variance. However, only eight factors were interpretable. The factors were iron chelation pump impact, transfusion impact, time spent on treatment and its impact on work and social life, sex life, side effects of treatment, cardiovascular problems, psychology, and iron chelation pill impact. The overall scale reliability was 0.913.Conclusion: This study was unable to replicate the internal structure of the Greek STQOLI in Sabah&rsquo;s adult thalassemia patients. Instead, a new structure has emerged that can be used as a guide to develop a questionnaire specific for adult thalassemia patients in Sabah. Future research should focus on the eight factors identified from this study.Keywords: STQOLI, validity, reliability, Malay, transfusio