• Isabelle Vallières, Michèle Aubin, Lucie Blondeau, Serge Simard, and Anik Giguère.
• Department of Radiation Oncology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec-Hôtel-Dieu de Québec, Quebec City, Canada. isabelle.vallieres@mail.chuq.qc.ca
• Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 2006 Sep 1;66(1):234-7.

PurposeTo determine the effectiveness of a multicomponent clinical intervention to reduce pain in outpatients with cancer.Methods And MaterialsSixty-four patients were randomly assigned to receive either a clinical intervention including an information session, the use of a pain diary, and the possibility to contact a physician to adjust the pain medication, or the usual treatment of pain by the staff radiation oncologist. All patients reported their average and worst pain levels at baseline and 2 and 3 weeks after the start of the intervention.ResultsThe study groups were similar with respect to their baseline characteristics and pain levels at randomization. After 3 weeks, the average and worst pain experienced by patients randomized to the clinical intervention group was significantly inferior to the average pain experienced by patients in the control group (2.9/10 vs. 4.4/10 and 4.2/10 vs. 5.5/10, respectively). Results showed that the experimental group patients decreased their pain levels more than the control group patients did over time.ConclusionAn intervention including patient education, a pain diary, and defining a procedure for therapeutic adjustments can be effective to improve pain relief in outpatients with cancer.

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