The acceptability of different routes of administration of analgesia for breakthrough pain

Abstract

Breakthrough Pain In Patients with cancer is common, often unpredictable and can rapidly become severe. Its treatment with orally administered opioids may not be optimal due to the slow onset of pain relief. The parenteral route provides more rapid onset of pain relief but is not always an available, convenient or preferred option. Newer routes of analgesic administration have been or are being developed, such as transmucosal, nasal and inhaled, that aim to combine rapid onset of pain relief with convenience.1 Little is known regarding how acceptable patients view these different routes for the administration of analgesia for breakthrough pain. To begin to explore this we undertook this survey.