In a five-state study (Bernabei, 1998) of 13,625 nursing home cancer patients over the age of 65, fully one-quarter of those who reported daily pain received no analgesics. Most of the rest received doses that were inadequate doses or too weak.
| Analgesic Use By Pain Category | (n = 4003) |
(n = 9610) |
| Nonnarcotic only | 659 (16%) | 2297 (24%) |
| Weak opiates (e.g., codeine) |
1293 (32%) | 870 (9%) |
| Strong opiates (e.g., morphine) |
1029 (26%) | 390 (4%) |
| Any analgesic | 2984 (74%) | 3557 (37%) |
(from Bernabei, 1998, p. 1879)
This text is derived from the book Improving Care for the End of Life : A Sourcebook for Health Care Managers and Clinicians.