Evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of transdermal fentanyl patches in 39 patients with moderate to severe cancer pain / 中国药学杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of transdermal fentanyl patches for moderate to severe cancer pain in aspects of pain control, quality of life, ADR, and etc. METHODS: Using the standard case report form combined with brief pain inventory (BPI) and numerical rating scale (NRS), 39 patients with moderate to severe cancer pain who received transdermal fentanyl (initial dose of 25 μg · h-1) for no less than five weeks were investigated. RESULTS: The total effective rate was 97.4% (38/39) and the average pain relief degree was 60.3%. All the patients gained significant improvement in multiple aspects of the quality of life. The main ADRs included constipation, dizziness, nausea, drowsiness, skin itch and etc, which were endurable, especially in the later therapeutic period. CONCLUSION: Transdermal fentanyl patches are the ideal alternative for patients with moderate to severe cancer pain. Copyright 2012 by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.