Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 1993
Case ReportsContinuous intravenous infusion of fentanyl: case reports of use in patients with advanced cancer and intractable pain.
The use of continuous intravenous infusion of opioids may be efficacious in managing pain related to advanced cancer. Short-acting opioids, such as morphine and hydromorphone, are commonly used. We describe the use of a fentanyl infusion in four cases. This experience suggests that fentanyl may be considered an alternative drug for infusion in the treatment of refractory cancer pain.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 1993
Case ReportsCase studies outlining use of nebulized morphine for patients with end-stage chronic lung and cardiac disease.
This article describes the use of nebulized morphine in the management of dyspnea in two patients with end-stage chronic lung disease, and two patients with end-stage heart failure. All four patients had relief of breathlessness. Arterial blood gas results and vital signs were monitored pre- and postnebulized morphine in two of the patients and demonstrated little change. Nebulized morphine appears to be well tolerated in this patient population.
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A short form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) was previously developed. It was found to correlate highly with and demonstrate differences due to treatment in a manner similar to the long form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (LF-MPQ). The LF-MPQ was previously found to be a valid measurement of pain in the cancer population. ⋯ Both the long and short total scores correlated highly with the visual analogue scale (VAS) and present pain intensity (PPI) scale. The SF-MPQ demonstrated changes over time in a manner similar to the LF-MPQ in this patient group. These observations support the value of the SF-MPQ as a tool for studying interventions in patients with chronic pain due to cancer.