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Patterns of pain and functional improvement in patients with bone metastases after conventional external beam
Liang Zeng1, Arjun Sahgal, Liying Zhang
1Rapid Response Radiotherapy Program, Department of Radiation Oncology, Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5.
Abstract:
Patients experiencing lower body pain resulting from bone metastases have greater levels of functional interference than those with upper body pain. The purpose of this study was to assess the levels of interference caused by pain after treatment with conventional radiotherapy using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and to validate this tool for telephone use. After radiotherapy, a total of 159, 129, and 106 patients completed the BPI over the telephone at months 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Cronbach's alpha, confirmatory factor analysis, and discriminant validity tests were performed to assess the validity of the BPI. One-way ANOVA was used to compare BPI scores. There was no statistically significant difference in functional interference among patients after treatment. Internal consistency of the BPI was high. Functional interference may be inherently higher in patients with pain in the lower body. Telephone use of the BPI is reliable and recommended in this population.
