Epidural analgesia in chronic refractory oncologic pain

Abstract

Adequate management of pain is an important goal in cancer patients undergoing end-of-life palliative treatment and symptom management. However, adequate pain control is not always easy, and it is not uncommon for patients to face up to severe pain despite a multimodal treatment including the use and rotation of opiates as analgesic strategy. Invasive analgesic procedures such as infusion of local anesthetics and opiates through an epidural catheter can be a therapeutic strategy for the management of these patients with refractory chronic cancer pain, and must be considered in special cases