Effectiveness of a clinical intervention in improving pain control in outpatients with cancer treated by radiation therapy

Can patient-reported measurements of pain be used to improve cancer pain management? A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The study by Bertsche et al 23 was also a non-randomised trial. Methodological details were lacking in the studies by Trowbridge et al 40 and Vallières et al 41 and the risk of bias in these studies was unclear.…”

“…Nine trials used pen and paper,19 23 25 26 28 34 40 45 four used touch screen devices or personal digital assistants to collect the data,20 36 37 41 three used automated telephone monitoring,17 18 35 one used web-based systems,21 and in two trials, the patient was interviewed by a nurse27 or a health educator29 for the data. One study offered a choice between automated telephone monitoring or online monitoring 33…”

“…Summary data were given to a clinician in advance of a consultation in eight studies 17 20 21 28 36 37 40 42. None of the clinicians in these studies were given specific instructions about how to use the data except in the study by Vallières et al ,41 in which clinicians were asked to alter analgesics according to the WHO's analgesic ladder.…”

“…Seven studies19 26 33 36 41 44 rated pain using the Brief Pain Inventory, one24 used measures from the Amsterdam Pain Management Index, one study17 used the MD Anderson symptom inventory and one study45 used a validated 10 cm visual analogue scale. Five trials28 29 34 35 39 used simple non-validated numerical pain rating scales out of 10 points.…”

Educational interventions for cancer pain. A systematic review of systematic reviews with nested narrative review of randomized controlled trials

“…x U x U U U U Provides general interpretation of the results in context and implications Vallieres [60] Provision of information booklet, completion of pain diary, and increased access to a physician who could adjust analgesic…”