Breakthrough pain (BTP) is a fact of life for many cancer patients. But pain experts are now finding that these sudden, temporary flares of severe pain can affect people with noncancerous conditions as well.
“We are much better now at identifying breakthrough pain, partly because the government requires that we ask if a patient is in pain,” says Naum Shaparin, MD. Shaparin is a pain management specialist at New Jersey Medical School. “Before this ‘fifth vital sign’ became the norm, patients with pain were often missed because the question wasn’t asked.”
Common Pains as You AgeAt some point in life, many people just don't feel the way they used to. The run that once cleared their head now just makes them uncomfortably aware of their knees. Or they've got achy joints that make them feel "old." Although it is not uncommon with age to experience new aches, it isn't normal to be in pain; that's a sign that something is amiss. No two pains are alike, and it's hard to predict what you may feel as you age. But there are certain pains that are more common at certain ages...
Read the Common Pains as You Age article > >And new research confirms that breakthrough pain is common among noncancer patients. A recent study published in the Journal of Opioid Management found that breakthrough pain was more common in patients without cancer than among those with the disease. And the noncancer patients were more impaired than those with cancer.
Breakthrough pain -- often called “flares” by doctors or “flare-ups” by patients -- is serious enough to upset the lives of people who are already trying to control chronic pain with one or more drugs. BTP is not new pain. It is a more severe episode of the background pain that already exists.
Findings taken from an American Pain Foundation (APF) survey of cancer-pain patients regarding breakthrough cancer pain confirm that numbers tell the story:
More than 80% say that BTP affects the quality of their lives, including their desire to participate in certain activities.More than 70% say that BTP affects their relationships with family members and their ability to perform everyday chores.More than 50% say that BTP has increased their daily medical expenses.While there aren’t as many hard statistics on noncancer BTP, an increasing body of evidence links it with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, migraine headaches, nerve pain, low back pain, shingles, fibromyalgia, and diabetic neuropathy. The list continues to grow.
Different things trigger BTP for different people. Sometimes, it just happens for no particular reason. At other times, individuals get flares during certain activities like exercising, coughing, moving after surgery, going to the bathroom, or even during a simple act like dressing.
“Another problem is called end-of-dose failure,” Shaparin tells WebMD. “This happens when a patient is started on a long-acting opioid. Although the medication is supposed to last 12 hours, in some people it lasts less; at times, only eight hours. The person experiences BTP when the long-acting drug is not effective for the intended length of time.”
Whatever the cause, breakthrough pain comes on suddenly, often without warning, and it can happen even if a person is taking medication for chronic pain. It reaches peak intensity within three minutes and normally lasts 30 to 60 minutes.
People with chronic pain who take opioid drugs experience breakthrough pain or severe flares an average of twice a day, or 14 times each week, according to an American Pain Foundation report.
Another study showed that the average noncancer patient had BTP over a period of three-and-a-half years. According to the National Pain Foundation, researchers estimate that more than 80% of people taking long-acting medications for chronic pain experience breakthrough pain.
