Herramientas de educación sanitaria de fentanilo intranasal con pectina

Proper health education is essential for the successful management and treatment of pain. In recent years, there has been a clarification of both the clinical features and diagnostic criteria of breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP), producing a new generation of drugs (fentanyl) with transmucosal absorption. Multiple clinical trials have been conducted on the safety and efficacy of these fentanyl preparations for the treatment of BTcP. The common denominator in most of these studies is the lack of relationship between the effective dose of fentanyl that controls pain exacerbations and the around-the-clock opioid dose, and therefore individualized titration should always be performed. Titration of fentanyl in any of its forms (transmucosal nasal/oral) therefore requires close monitoring of analgesia and adverse effects with each dose administered. Health education in patients and their families on the use of rapid-release opioids is a key aspect of their success. In this article, we describe the health education tools that have been developed by the palliative care service of the Catalan Institut of Oncology to facilitate the understanding of the use and titration of these drugs.