Establish a method to monitor opioid appropriateness for cancer pain using wearable activity trackers.

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K17842
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 55050:Anesthesiology-related
• Research Institution: Nagoya City University
• Principal Investigator: Sugiyama Yosuke 名古屋市立大学, 医薬学総合研究院(医学), 研究員 (10773054)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 医療用麻薬 / ウェアラブルデバイス / がん性疼痛

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The association between pain and blood levels of opioids and the effect of pain on activity levels, such as heart rate and steps, were investigated in patients with cancer pain. A wristwatch activity tracker was used for activity levels.
A weak correlation was found between cancer pain and opioid blood levels. Weak correlations were also found between pain and heart rate. Looking at the opioid fluctuations for each case, it was confirmed that blood levels decreased when pain increased above the median compared to when pain was below the median. Further validation in the future may lead to an objective assessment of opioid blood levels and activity levels for cancer pain, which could contribute to better pain control.

Free Research Field

緩和ケア

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

がんの痛みは患者のみならず、ケアを行う患者家族にとっても非常に大きな問題である。痛みは患者自身でしか評価できないが、がんの痛みの原因は複合的であり、解決策は医療用麻薬のみではない。しかし、痛みが増悪した場合は患者の主観的な訴えしか評価ができず、訴えに応じて医療用麻薬が投与される。その一方で不要な投与や増量は副作用の発生頻度を高める。今回の我々の研究では、がんの痛みを客観的に評価できる可能性を見いだした。今後がんの痛みを客観的に評価することで、早期の鎮痛、過剰な投与に伴う副作用を予防することに貢献できる可能性がある。