Behavioural pain assessment in advanced stage oncology patients with cancer disease treated in the In-Patient Palliative Care Unit

The proper assessment of chronic pain is a key issue in its diagnosis and pharmacotherapy. Assessing pain in patients with cognitive disorders is a great challenge, as standard tools cannot be used. The aim of this study was to carry out a pilot assessment of pain in severely cognitively impaired patients admitted to the In-Patient Palliative Care Unit, using the Doloplus-2 assessment tool, and to assess the efficacy of potential analgesic treatment. This type of pain assessment was also evaluated. 49 patients participated in the study. The pain was assessed twice with the Doloplus-2 scale. After the first observation, a pain of mean intensity 9.4 points was noted in the majority of patients. The next observation was performed after management had been administered seven days later. It revealed a significant diminishment of pain intensity to 4.9 points. The study proved the high usefulness of the Doloplus-2 scale in the assessment and diagnosis of chronic pain, as well as in monitoring the effectiveness of therapy in patients with cognitive disorders.