Pain therapy in multiple myeloma — clinical experience from an observational study

Abstract

Abstract Aim: The aim of the present study was the documentation and evaluation of analgesic therapy in patients with multiple myeloma. Method: As part of a chemotherapy optimisation study, the patients' pain therapy was documented. The severity of pain was recorded using a visual analogue scale (VAS) from 0 (neither pain nor impairment) to 10 (greatest imaginable pain, and very severe impairment). Follow-up examinations took place after 3 days, 1 month and 3 months. Results: 123 patients (60.9%) of 202 patients with multiple myeloma stage III, were treated with analgesics because of severe pain. The average duration of documentation was 11.6 months. One hundred patients received analgesics orally or transdermally, and 32 of these patients received oral controlled-release hydromorphone (Palladon® retard). The remaining patients received analgesic treatment with bisphosponates i.v. and non-medication measures. Four patients (n = 19) were treated with a transdermal system and 8 patients who received a diffe...