Pain Treatment and Cancer Patients: Are we Heeding Quality of Life?

The use of opioid analgesics remains the primary therapy for pain control in cancer patients. However, ample evidence persists showing that treatment is still inadequate. This cross-sectional study was carried out during one year in a Brazilian Cancer Hospital to evaluate the impact of opioid use on analgesia and patients' quality of life. The Pain Management Index (PMI), EORTC QLQ.C30 (Quality of Life of Cancer Patients), Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4), and Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) were used. A hundred patients with advanced solid tumors and using opioids were included, with 82% of them reporting daily pain with 58% having intense pain. Morphine with a mean dose of 49 Morphine Milligram Equivalent were used by 57% of them, and PMI was negative in 34% of the sample. Neuropathic pain was found in 72% of patients. The pain was related to all BPI variables. Despite the substantial negative impact of pain on QOL, no association was found between the clinical factors assessed and QOL itself. This gap can be related to the persistence of high levels of sub-treatment, depression, and neuropathic pain associated with the use of low doses of opiates and adjuvant medications in the sample.

Association between hypocalcemia and rivaroxaban in coagulation disorders: a case report.

We describe a patient with tertiary hyperparathyroidism with history of three episodes of deep vein thrombosis and on rivaroxaban. The patient underwent a subtotal parathyroidectomy, developing cervical hematoma with airway compression. Therefore, emergency surgical decompression was necessary. Later, on the ninth postoperative day, the serum ionized calcium levels were low. Medical team knowledge about preexisting diseases and their implication in the coagulation state are essential conditions to reduce morbidity and mortality of surgeries. However, no reports were found in literature about the association of hypocalcemia with the use of the new class of anticoagulants, which act as factor X inhibitors (Stuart-Prower factor), predisposing to increased bleeding in the immediate postoperative period.

Association between hypocalcemia and rivaroxaban in coagulation disorders: a case report / Associação entre hipocalcemia e rivaroxaban em distúrbios de coagulação: relato de caso

ABSTRACT We describe a patient with tertiary hyperparathyroidism with history of three episodes of deep vein thrombosis and on rivaroxaban. The patient underwent a subtotal parathyroidectomy, developing cervical hematoma with airway compression. Therefore, emergency surgical decompression was necessary. Later, on the ninth postoperative day, the serum ionized calcium levels were low. Medical team knowledge about preexisting diseases and their implication in the coagulation state are essential conditions to reduce morbidity and mortality of surgeries. However, no reports were found in literature about the association of hypocalcemia with the use of the new class of anticoagulants, which act as factor X inhibitors (Stuart-Prower factor), predisposing to increased bleeding in the immediate postoperative period.

RESUMO Descrevemos um paciente com hiperparatireoidismo terciário com história de três episódios de trombose venosa profunda e em uso de rivaroxabana. O paciente foi submetido a uma paratireoidectomia subtotal, desenvolvendo hematoma cervical com compressão das vias aéreas. Foi necessária descompressão cirúrgica de emergência. No nono dia de pós-operatório, os níveis séricos de cálcio iônico estavam baixos. O conhecimento da equipe médica sobre doenças preexistentes e de sua implicação no estado de coagulação é condição indispensável para a redução da morbimortalidade do procedimento cirúrgico. No entanto, não há relatos na literatura associando hipocalcemia com o uso da nova classe de anticoagulantes que atuam como inibidores do fator X (fator de Stuart-Prower), predispondo ao aumento do sangramento no pós-operatório imediato.