Pain and Its Treatment Among Outpatients with Malignant Tumors in China

Pain is common among patients with malignant tumors. It significantly impacts quality of life, yet over 80% of advanced cancer patients lack adequate pain management. Despite improvements in China's pain management program, challenges remain, especially for older adults and outpatient care.

We evaluated pain intensity management adequacy using a 0-10 numerical rating scale (NRS), and Pain Management Index (PMI) at an outpatient oncology clinic. Differences and changes in pain levels were statistically analyzed using t-test, rank-sum, and chi-square tests. Factors associated with inadequate pain management were identified using multivariate logistic regression.

Among 589 participants, 45.41% scored moderate to severe pain ≥ 4, and 81.32% experienced inadequate pain management (PMI < 0). Pain was more severe among older, than younger patients (4.15 ± 2.89 vs 3.65 ± 2.41, P < 0.001) and pain management was inadequate in older compared with younger patients (75.47% vs 89.87%). Undergoing targeted or immune adjuvant therapy (odds ratio [OR], 3.206; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.538-6.684) and poor physical status (OR, 5.053; 95% CI, 2.023-12.622) emerged as significant risk factors for inadequate pain management.

Pain management is challenging for patients aged ≥60 years. Therefore, tailored interventions are needed to enhance care quality.