Postembolization Pain Reduced By Psychological Intervention

[allen green]

Psychological intervention has been shown to reduce the postembolization pain during hepatic arterial chemoembolizatiom therapy. It is highly recommended as a complementary approach to pharmacological analgesia according to research published in the February 14, 2008 issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology.

Unbearable pain is the most common complaint during and after transarterial embolization. Large doses of opioid analgesics are often required in most patients when the pain is too severe to endure. Because these medications have side effects and a few patients are not susceptive to sedative and analgesic medication, it would be useful to develop nonpharmacologic analgesia approaches to improving this painful experience.

In the study it was demonstrated that the psychological status of hepatic malignancy patient was abnormal and several symptoms were related to the pain intensity during the procedure. It was indication to psychological intervention.