Reporting characteristics of cancer pain: a systematic review and quantitative analysis of research publications in palliative care journals

Thirty-year survey of bibliometrics used in the research literature of pain: Analysis, evolution, and pitfalls

During the last decades, the emergence of Bibliometrics and the progress in Pain research have led to a proliferation of bibliometric studies on the medical and scientific literature of pain (B/P). This study charts the evolution of the B/P literature published during the last 30 years. Using various searching techniques, 189 B/P studies published from 1993 to August 2022 were collected for analysis-half were published since 2018. Most of the selected B/P publications use classic bibliometric analysis of Pain in toto, while some focus on specific types of Pain with Headache/Migraine, Low Back Pain, Chronic Pain, and Cancer Pain dominating. Each study is characterized by the origin (geographical, economical, institutional, …) and the medical/scientific context over a specified time span to provide a detailed landscape of the Pain research literature. Some B/P studies have been developed to pinpoint difficulties in appropriately identifying the Pain literature or to highlight some general publishing pitfalls. Having observed that most of the recent B/P studies have integrated newly emergent software visualization tools (SVTs), we found an increase of anomalies and suggest that readers exercise caution when interpreting results in the B/P literature details.

Opioid Use at End-Of-Life Among Nova Scotia Patients With Cancer

Purpose: To determine the factors associated with opioid analgesic prescriptions as measured by community pharmacy dispensations to all Nova Scotia (NS) patients with cancer at end-of-life from 2005 to 2009.

Methods: The NS Cancer Registry and the NS Prescription Monitoring Program (NSPMP) were used to link Nova Scotians who had a cancer diagnosis and received a prescription for opioids in their last year of life (n = 6,186) from 2005 to 2009. The association of factors with opioid dispensations at end-of-life were determined (e.g., patient demographics, type of prescriber, type of cancer, and opioid type, formulation, and dose).

Results: Almost 54% (n = 6,186) of the end-of-life study population with cancer (n = 11,498) was linked to the NSPMP and therefore dispensed opioids. Most prescriptions were written by general practitioners (89%) and were for strong opioids (81%). Immediate-release formulations were more common than modified-release formulations. Although the annual average parenteral morphine equivalents (MEQ) did not change during the study period, the number of opioid prescriptions per patient per year increased from 5.9 in 2006 to 7.0 in 2009 (p < 0.0001). Patients age 80 and over received the fewest prescriptions (mean 3.9/year) and the lowest opioid doses (17.0 MEQ) while patients aged 40–49 received the most prescriptions (mean 14.5/year) and the highest doses of opioid (80.2 MEQ).

Conclusion: Our study examined opioid analgesic use at end-of-life in patients with cancer for a large real-world population and determined factors, trends and patterns associated with type and dose of opioid dispensed. We provide information regarding how general practitioners prescribe opioid therapy to patients at end-of-life. Our data suggest that at the time of this study, there may have been under-prescribing of opioids to patients with cancer at end-of-life. This information can be used to increase awareness among general practitioners, and to inform recommendations from professional regulatory bodies, to aid in managing pain for cancer patients at end-of-life. Future work could address how opioid prescribing has changed over time, and whether efforts to reduce opioid prescribing in response to the opioid crisis have affected patients with cancer at end-of-life in Nova Scotia.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of palliative care for pain among Chinese adults with cancer

Background

Pain is one of the most common symptoms that has a severe impact on quality of life and is associated with numerous psychosocial issues in cancer patients. Palliative care, which is a recent development in China, mainly focuses on symptom control and provides psychosocial support in order to improve quality of life for terminally ill patients. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effects of palliative care on cancer pain in China.

Methods

The four most comprehensive Chinese academic databases-CNKI, Wanfang, Vip and CBM-were searched from their inception until July 2019. Medline/PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO and internet search (Google and Google Scholar) were also searched. Randomized controlled studies assessing the effects of palliative care on cancer pain were analyzed. The pooled random-effect estimates of standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Subgroup analysis was conducted by moderating factors for heterogeneity.

Results

The present meta-analysis included 18 studies with a total of 1370 patients. The random-effect model showed a significant effect size of palliative care on cancer pain (SMD = 1.475, p < 0.001; 95% CI = 1.071–1.878). Age, pharmacological/non-pharmacological strategies and publication date could account for the heterogeneity through subgroup analysis to some extent.

Conclusions

Palliative care was largely effective for relieving pain among Chinese adults with cancer, indicating that an adequate system should be urgently established to provide palliative care for cancer patients in Chinese medical settings. However, given the extent of heterogeneity, our findings should be interpreted cautiously.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12904-019-0456-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

An Exploratory Analysis of Levels of Evidence for Articles Published in Indian Journal of Palliative Care in the years 2010-2011

CONTEXT

Indian Journal of Palliative Care (IJPC) provides a comprehensive multidisciplinary evidence base for an evidence-informed clinical decision making.

AIMS

To analyze the levels of evidence of articles published in IJPC in the years 2010-2011.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

Systematic review of palliative care journals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Systematic review of articles was done and was scored according to Center for Evidence-Based Medicine levels of evidence into any of the five grades. The articles were categorized based upon article type, number of authors, study approach, age focus, population focus, disease focus, goals of care, domains of care, models of care, and year of publication.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED

All descriptive analysis was done using frequencies and percentiles, and association between all categorical variables was done using Chi-square test at 95% confidence interval (CI) using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16 for Windows (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL).

RESULTS

There was a greater prevalence of low level evidence (level 4: n = 46, 51%; level 5: n = 35, 39%) among the 90 selected articles, and article type (original articles with higher level of evidence, P = 0.000), article approach (analytical studies with higher level of evidence, P = 0.000), domains of palliative care (practice-related studies with higher level of evidence, P = 0.000) and models of care (biological or psychosocial model with higher level of evidence, P = 0.044) had a significant association with the grade of levels of evidence. Association with other factors was not statistically significant (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The levels of research evidence for palliative care provided by articles published in IJPC were predominantly level 4 and level 5, and there is scope for more high quality evidence to inform palliative care decisions in the developing countries.

End-of-life care: Indian perspective

According to Hinduism, the main religion of India, the end-of-life (EOL) deals with good and bad death. The WHO definition of palliative care stresses on improving not only the quality of life of patients facing incurable diseases but also their families by providing relief from the pain and suffering that includes the psychosocial and spiritual needs as well. The Indian Society of Palliative Care has been doing a commendable work and appreciable efforts are being done by the Kerala model of delivering the EOL care. The spiritual, ethical issues and ethical challenges raised when the patients are in terminal phase are also reviewed keeping in mind the socio-cultural norms. The Indian Penal Code (IPC) has lacunae, which hamper the physicians from taking proper decision in the EOL care. Some of the sections like IPC 309 are defunct and need to be changed. The Indian Society for Critical Care Medicine has developed a position statement on the patient management of the terminally ill patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) which states that the society should move from the paternalistic model to the share based decision model of the West when deciding the fate of such patients. The literature review on the Indian research on palliative care shows very little emphatic results and the medical under graduates show illiteracy. To strengthen it Medical Council of India has included the palliative care in its curriculum by starting a PG course. Literature review revealed that more research from Indian perspective should be done in this area. This article studies the core issues of developing palliative care in Indian setting keeping in mind the ethical, spiritual and legal issues.

Pain and symptom management in palliative care and at end of life

The purpose of this review is to provide a literature update of the research published since 2004 on pain and symptom management in palliative care and at end of life. Findings suggest that pain and symptoms are inadequately assessed and managed, even at the end of life. Although not pervasive, there is evidence of racial/ethnic disparities in symptom management in palliative care and at end of life. There is a need for a broader conceptualization and measurement of pain and symptom management as multidimensional experiences. There is insufficient evidence about mechanisms underlying pain at end of life. Although there are advances in the knowledge of pain as a multidimensional experience and the many symptoms that occur sometimes with pain, gaps remain. One approach to addressing the gaps will involve assessment and management of pain and symptoms as multidimensional experiences in people receiving palliative care and at end of life.

Reporting of pediatric palliative care: a systematic review and quantitative analysis of research publications in palliative care journals

CONTEXT

Pediatric palliative care clinical practice depends upon an evidence-based decision-making process which in turn is based upon current research evidence.

AIMS

This study aimed to perform a quantitative analysis of research publications in palliative care journals for reporting characteristics of articles on pediatric palliative care.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

This was a systematic review of palliative care journals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twelve palliative care journals were searched for articles with "paediatric" or "children" in titles of the articles published from 2006 to 2010. The reporting rates of all journals were compared. The selected articles were categorized into practice, education, research, and administration, and subsequently grouped into original and review articles. The original articles were subgrouped into qualitative and quantitative studies, and the review articles were grouped into narrative and systematic reviews. Each subgroup of original articles' category was further classified according to study designs.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED

Descriptive analysis using frequencies and percentiles was done using SPSS for Windows, version 11.5.

RESULTS

The overall reporting rate among all journals was 2.66% (97/3634), and Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing (JHPN) had the highest reporting rate of 12.5% (1/8), followed by Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care (JSWELPC) with a rate of 7.5% (5/66), and Journal of Palliative Care (JPC) with a rate of 5.33% (11/206).

CONCLUSIONS

The overall reporting rate for pediatric palliative care articles in palliative care journals was very low and there were no randomized clinical trials and systematic reviews found. The study findings indicate a lack of adequate evidence base for pediatric palliative care.

Reporting of "quality of life": a systematic review and quantitative analysis of research publications in palliative care journals

CONTEXT

Palliative care clinical practice depends upon an evidence-based decision-making process which in turn is based upon current research evidence. One of the most important goals in clinical palliative care is to improve patients' quality of life (QoL).

AIM

This study aimed to perform a quantitative analysis of research publications in palliative care journals for reporting characteristics of articles on QoL.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

This was a systematic review of palliative care journals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twelve palliative care journals were searched for articles with "QoL" in the title of the articles published from 2006 to 2010. The reporting rates of all journals were compared. The selected articles were categorized into assessment and treatment, and subsequently grouped into original and review articles. The original articles were subgrouped into qualitative and quantitative studies, and the review articles were grouped into narrative and systematic reviews. Each subgroup of original article category was further classified according to study designs.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED

Descriptive analysis using frequencies and percentiles was done using SPSS for Windows, version 11.5.

RESULTS

The overall reporting rate among all journals was 1.95% (71/3634), and Indian Journal of Palliative Care (IJPC) had the highest reporting rate of 5.08% (3/59), followed by Palliative Medicine (PM) with 3.71% (20/538), and Palliative and Supportive Care (PSC) with 3.64% (9/247) reporting.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall reporting rate for QoL articles in palliative care journals was 1.95% and there were very few randomized clinical trials and systematic reviews found. The study findings indicate further high-quality research to establish an adequate evidence base for QoL.

Utilization of brief pain inventory as an assessment tool for pain in patients with cancer: a focused review

The Pain Research Group of the world health organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Symptom Evaluation in Cancer Care had developed the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), a pain assessment tool for use with cancer patients. The BPI measures both the intensity of pain (sensory dimension) and interference of pain in the patient's life (reactive dimension). The objective of this review paper was to provide a detailed update of existing evidence on applicability of BPI in evaluation of patients with cancer pain. The BPI demonstrated good construct and concurrent validity. It was translated and validated into many languages - Brazilian, Chinese, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Taiwanese and Thai. The BPI was validated in patient populations such as bone metastases, breast cancer and postoperative cancer patients. The BPI can be used both as a quantitative or a qualitative measure for statistical analysis. The BPI was a powerful tool and, having demonstrated both reliability and validity across cultures and languages, was being adopted in many countries for clinical pain assessment, epidemiological studies, and in studies on the effectiveness of pain treatment. Future studies are warranted on its responsiveness and cross-cultural adaptation into other cancer pain syndromes and into other Indian languages.