Dor oncologica

Status of Pain Management in Asia

Oncology

Oncology 2008;74(suppl 1):35–39 DOI: 10.1159/000143216

Published online: August 28, 2008

Documenting Pain as the Fifth Vital Sign: A Feasibility Study in an Oncology Ward in Sarawak, Malaysia
B.C.R. Devi T.S. Tang
Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Key Words Fifth vital sign Pain assessment tool Cancer pain

Introduction

Abstract Background: Monitoring acute postoperative pain as the fifth vital sign is currently practiced in many developed countries. In Sarawak, pain is an important symptom as 70% of cancer patients present with advanced disease. As the existing validated pain assessment tools were found to be difficult to use, we studied the feasibility of modifying the use of a pain assessment tool, consisting of the short form of the Brief Pain Inventory and the Wong-Baker Faces Scale. Method: This tool was used to document pain in all 169 patients who were admitted for pain control to the oncology ward between July 2000 and June 2001. Nurses were trained in the use of the modified scale before the start of the study. Results: The method was easy to use, and the mean number of days to reduce pain was found to be 3.1 days (SD: 2.9; median: 2 days; range: 1–31 days). At discharge, none in the group with initially mild pain had pain, and the severity of pain for 98% of patients with moderate pain and 61% with severe pain was downgraded to mild pain. Conclusion: The staff found that the tool allowed continuous pain assessment in an objective manner. Copyright © 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

For centuries, vital sign measurement has been routine practice for doctors and nurses. The vital signs commonly measured are blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration and temperature. In the late 1990s, pain was introduced as the ‘fifth vital sign’ [1]. Between one third and one half of cancer patients on active therapy and about two thirds of those with advanced disease have