The Use of Analgesics in Terminal Cancer Patients in Taiwan

Pain is one of the most common symptoms in cancer patients. The dosage of morphine consumption reflects the quality of pain control in the country. Material and Method: We enroll patients with terminal cancer from 1,000,000 insured sampling of National Health Insurance claim database from 1998 January to 2006 December. These patients are divided into two groups: ever admitted at hospice ward or never admitted at hospice ward. The pain control and the usage of analgesics are record and calculated. Result: There were 3,255 patients were enrolled, and 626 patients ever admitted at hospice ward. The equivalent morphine dose was much higher in hospice ward. Transdermal fentanyl patch was the most common form for pain control in hospice ward; and meperidine was the most common form in non-hospice ward. Conclusion: Patient had better pain control under hospice service. But the morphine consumption was still much lower then western country.