Breakthrough pain in patients with multiple myeloma: a secondary analysis of IOPS MS study

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to characterize breakthrough pain (BTcP) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM).PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a sec-ondary analysis of a large multicenter study of patients with BTcP. Background pain intensity and opioid doses were recorded. The BTcP char-acteristics, including the number of BTcP ep-isodes, intensity, onset, duration, predictabil-ity, and interference with daily activities were recorded. Opioids prescribed for BTcP, time to achieve a meaningful pain relief after taking a medication, adverse effects, and patients' satis- faction were assessed.RESULTS: Fifty-four patients with MM were ex-amined. In comparison with other tumors, in pa-tients with MM BTcP was more predictable (p=0.04), with the predominant trigger being the physical ac-tivity (p < 0.001). Other BTcP characteristics, pattern of opioids used for background pain and BTcP, sat-isfaction and adverse effects did not differ.CONCLUSIONS: Patients with MM have their own peculiarities. Given the peculiar involve-ment of the skeleton, BTcP was highly predict-able and triggered by movement.

Automated summary

This study aimed to characterize breakthrough pain (BTcP) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). The study analyzed data from a large multicenter study of patients with BTcP, recording background pain intensity and opioid doses. The characteristics of BTcP, including the number of episodes, intensity, onset, duration, predictability, and interference with daily activities, were recorded. Opioids prescribed for BTcP, time to achieve pain relief, adverse effects, and patient satisfaction were assessed. Results showed that BTcP in MM patients was more predictable, with physical activity as the predominant trigger.