journal articles
FRAILTY AND PERSISTENT PAIN IN ONCOLOGICAL PATIENTS UNDERGOING REHABILITATION
S. Crosignani, L. Orlandini, S. Baruffi, M. Froldi, M. Cesari
J Frailty Aging 2022;11(3)286-290
Objectives: Pain is one of the most common symptoms among oncological patients and has a strong negative impact on quality of life. The aim of this study is to assess if frailty and polypharmacy are associated with persistent pain in oncological patients undergoing rehabilitation.
Design: Observational, prospective, longitudinal study.
Setting and Participants: Data are from oncological patients admitted to the Oncological Rehabilitation Unit. Methods: Presence of pain, its intensity and characteristics were evaluated at the admission and after 7 days. A Frailty Index (FI) was computed from Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) data.
Results: Among the 45 consecutively recruited patients (mean age 72 years, woman 44%), pain was present in 20 (44%) patients at the admission and 9 (20%) after 7 days of stay. Forty-one patients (92%) were taking more than 5 drugs at the admission (mean 9 drugs). The FI was normally distributed and descriptive statistics define our population as frail (mean 0.44; range 0.23-0.64). The FI was significantly associated with the presence of pain (OR 2.66; 95%CI 1.13-6.27, p=0.03) and its intensity after 7 days from the admission (β 4.24 95% CI 1.28 – 7.19, p=0.006), even after adjustment for potential confounders.
Conclusions and Implications: Investigating frailty in cancer patients to implement multidisciplinary strategies could play an important role in improving persistent pain.
CITATION:
S. Crosignani ; L. Orlandini ; S. Baruffi ; M. Froldi ; M. Cesari (2022): Frailty and Persistent Pain in Oncological Patients Undergoing Rehabilitation . The Journal of Frailty and Aging (JFA). http://dx.doi.org/10.14283/jfa.2022.26