Introduction

Cancer pain is the most prevalent symptom among patients diagnosed with oncological disease. Pain complaints can occur at any stage of the disease, significantly impacting patient functioning. An additional challenge that arises when trying to assess the severity of pain is the cognitive impairment that can occur in palliative patients. Pain control is a key component of palliative treatment, and effective assessment is a cornerstone of planned therapy. The purpose of this study was to assess pain among patients with cognitive impairment hospitalized in an inpatient palliative medicine unit and examine its impact on their functional status.

Material and methods

The method used in the study is a diagnostic survey with purposive group selection. The techniques that were used are a questionnaire and analysis of medical records. Standardized tools including the Doloplus-2 pain assessment questionnaire, the Behavioural Rating Scale, the Critical Care Pain Observation Tool questionnaire, and the Abbreviated Mental Test score (for qualifying patients) were used to conduct the survey.

Results

The study revealed statistically significant correlations between the functional status of patients with cognitive impairment and the presence of pain. However, no correlations were observed between gender, age, primary tumour location, and pain complaints.

Conclusions

Patients who score higher on functional performance scales are patients who experience pain. The Doloplus-2 scale is a more effective tool for assessing pain occurrence in palliative patients.