LONDON, Mar 26:
Patients suffering from cancer could ease their pain levels by using a simple pen and paper bedside chart, a study suggests.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh in the UK found that the chart works by encouraging doctors to ask the right questions and reflect on pain medications and side effects more frequently, before patients reach a crisis point.
The new approach, described in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, reduces pain levels compared with conventional care.
Pain affects half of all people with cancer and an estimated 80 per cent of those with advanced cancer, causing both physical and emotional impact on patients. Researchers worked with doctors to develop the Edinburgh Pain Assessment and management Tool (EPAT) – a pen and paper chart which medical staff use to regularly record pain levels in a simple traffic light system.
Amber or red pain levels – indicating moderate or severe pain – prompt doctors to review medications and side effects and monitor pain more closely. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel