The use of interpleural analgesia using bupivacaine for pain relief in advanced cancer

Postthoracotomy Ipsilateral Shoulder Pain: A Literature Review on Characteristics and Treatment

Context. Postthoracotomy Ipsilateral Shoulder Pain (IPS) is a common and sometimes intractable pain syndrome. IPS is different from chest wall pain in type, origin, and treatments. Various treatments are suggested or applied for it but none of them is regarded as popular accepted effective one. Objectives. To review data and collect all present experiences about postthoracotomy IPS and its management and suggest future research directions. Methods. Search in PubMed database and additional search for specific topics and review them to retrieve relevant articles as data source in a narrative review article. Results. Even in the presence of effective epidural analgesia, ISP is a common cause of severe postthoracotomy pain. The phrenic nerve has an important role in the physiopathology of postthoracotomy ISP. Different treatments have been applied or suggested. Controlling the afferent nociceptive signals conveyed by the phrenic nerve at various levels—from peripheral branches on the diaphragm to its entrance in the cervical spine—could be of therapeutic value. Despite potential concerns about safety, intrapleural or phrenic nerve blocks are tolerated well, at least in a selected group of patient. Conclusion. Further researches could be directed on selective sensory block and motor function preservation of the phrenic nerve. However, the safety and efficacy of temporary loss of phrenic nerve function and intrapleural local anesthetics should be assessed.

Clinical management of pain in advanced lung cancer

Lung cancer is the most common cancer in the world and pain is its most common symptom. Pain can be brought about by several different causes including local effects of the tumor, regional or distant spread of the tumor, or from anti-cancer treatment. Patients with lung cancer experience more symptom distress than patients with other types of cancer. Symptoms such as pain may be associated with worsening of other symptoms and may affect quality of life. Pain management adheres to the principles set out by the World Health Organization's analgesic ladder along with adjuvant analgesics. As pain can be caused by multiple factors, its treatment requires pharmacological and non-pharmacological measures from a multidisciplinary team linked in with specialist palliative pain management. This review article examines pain management in lung cancer.

Cancer pain: part 2: physical, interventional and complimentary therapies; management in the community; acute, treatment-related and complex cancer pain: a perspective from the British Pain Society endorsed by the UK Association of Palliative Medicine and the Royal College of General Practitioners

OBJECTIVE

This discussion document about the management of cancer pain is written from the pain specialists' perspective in order to provoke thought and interest in a multimodal approach to the management of cancer pain, not just towards the end of life, but pain at diagnosis, as a consequence of cancer therapies, and in cancer survivors. It relates the science of pain to the clinical setting and explains the role of psychological, physical, interventional and complementary therapies in cancer pain.

METHODS

This document has been produced by a consensus group of relevant healthcare professionals in the United Kingdom and patients' representatives making reference to the current body of evidence relating to cancer pain. In the second of two parts, physical, invasive and complementary cancer pain therapies; treatment in the community; acute, treatment-related and complex cancer pain are considered.

CONCLUSIONS

It is recognized that the World Health Organization (WHO) analgesic ladder, whilst providing relief of cancer pain towards the end of life for many sufferers world-wide, may have limitations in the context of longer survival and increasing disease complexity. To complement this, it is suggested that a more comprehensive model of managing cancer pain is needed that is mechanism-based and multimodal, using combination therapies including interventions where appropriate, tailored to the needs of an individual, with the aim to optimize pain relief with minimization of adverse effects.

Analgesia for patients with advanced disease: 2

The first article in this series explored epidemiology and patterns of pain in advanced disease, non-pharmacological treatments, and the use of opioids to manage pain. This second article examines the use of non-opioid drugs and anaesthetic interventions for pain relief in advanced disease. It also discusses an approach to managing analgesia in dying patients and finally looks at future developments.

Regional anaesthesia and medical disease

The present review addresses recent literature on advances in regional anaesthesia and medical diseases, and focuses on expert guidelines and decision-making processes. Attention is also given to risk-benefit ratios in the management of patients with chronic illnesses, difficulties in treatment of the elderly, and associated morbidity and mortality.