Objective: The risk of inappropriate use of opioid drugs increases, especially the short-acting ones. The risk of addiction in patients with cancer with a relatively good prognosis is a challenge. The aim of the study is to evaluate the decision to continue therapy with a short-acting fentanyl.
Methods: The study concerns a 49-year-old male patient with an advanced neuroendocrine tumour in the pre-sacral region. The research method includes the medical history and physical examination, an analysis of the patient's medical record and a self-designed questionnaire to assess the degree of dependence on opioid drugs.
Results: The analysis of the results of the survey confirmed the patient's dependence on opioid drugs. He gave positive answers to 16 out of 19 questions in the survey.
Conclusion: Despite an addiction, the improvement of life quality is of the utmost importance. Therefore, decision to continue the intranasal fentanyl therapy is justified because of toleration and a high satisfactory effect.
Keywords: addiction; cancer pain; intranasal fentanyl; life quality; short-acting opioid.
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