Table 2.
Difficult to treat cancer-related symptoms identified by physicians
| Symptoms |
All physicians (n = 311) |
Palliative care teams (n = 226) |
PCUs (n = 79) |
p-value |
Specialists (n = 128) |
Non-specialists (n = 183) |
p-value | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| frequency | % | frequency | % | frequency | % | frequency | % | frequency | % | |||
| Numbness/Hypesthesia |
240 |
77.2 |
180 |
79.6 |
55 |
69.6 |
0.165 |
99 |
77.3 |
141 |
77.0 |
1.000 |
| Languor/Fatigue |
225 |
72.3 |
161 |
71.2 |
61 |
77.2 |
0.276 |
99 |
77.3 |
126 |
68.9 |
0.122 |
| Delirium |
170 |
54.7 |
119 |
52.7 |
48 |
60.8 |
0.447 |
73 |
57.0 |
97 |
53.0 |
0.490 |
| Taste alteration |
166 |
53.4 |
124 |
54.9 |
42 |
53.2 |
0.029 |
77 |
60.2 |
89 |
48.6 |
0.050 |
| Edema (Local edema/Anasarca) |
150 |
48.2 |
109 |
48.2 |
39 |
49.4 |
0.821 |
59 |
46.1 |
91 |
49.7 |
0.565 |
| Pain |
146 |
46.9 |
113 |
50.0 |
31 |
39.2 |
0.226 |
55 |
43.0 |
91 |
49.7 |
0.250 |
| Anorexia/Weight loss |
140 |
45.0 |
109 |
48.2 |
30 |
38.0 |
0.108 |
64 |
50.0 |
76 |
41.5 |
0.165 |
| Abdominal discomfort |
131 |
42.1 |
98 |
43.4 |
31 |
39.2 |
0.735 |
55 |
43.0 |
76 |
41.5 |
0.816 |
| Stomatitis/Xerostomia |
122 |
39.2 |
89 |
39.4 |
33 |
41.8 |
0.141 |
54 |
42.2 |
68 |
37.2 |
0.409 |
| Depression |
116 |
37.3 |
86 |
38.1 |
30 |
38.0 |
0.175 |
41 |
32.0 |
75 |
41.0 |
0.122 |
| Adjustment disorder |
113 |
36.3 |
73 |
32.3 |
39 |
49.4 |
0.014 |
47 |
36.7 |
66 |
36.1 |
1.000 |
| Dyspnea/Breathlessness |
113 |
36.3 |
77 |
34.1 |
35 |
44.3 |
0.162 |
48 |
37.5 |
65 |
35.5 |
0.811 |
| Nausea/Vomiting (other) |
101 |
32.5 |
75 |
33.2 |
24 |
30.4 |
0.893 |
38 |
29.7 |
63 |
34.4 |
0.392 |
| Dysphagia/Deglutition disorder |
100 |
32.2 |
68 |
30.1 |
31 |
39.2 |
0.281 |
50 |
39.1 |
50 |
27.3 |
0.036 |
| Sleep disorder/Insomnia |
93 |
29.9 |
69 |
30.5 |
23 |
29.1 |
0.796 |
42 |
32.8 |
51 |
27.9 |
0.379 |
| Constipation (caused by opioid use) |
84 |
27.0 |
69 |
30.5 |
15 |
19.0 |
0.038 |
34 |
26.6 |
50 |
27.3 |
0.898 |
| Nausea/Vomiting (during chemotherapy) |
76 |
24.4 |
71 |
31.4 |
5 |
6.3 |
0.000 |
27 |
21.1 |
49 |
26.8 |
0.284 |
| Muscle weakness |
65 |
20.9 |
46 |
20.4 |
19 |
24.1 |
0.346 |
34 |
26.6 |
31 |
16.9 |
0.047 |
| Nausea/Vomiting (caused by opioid use) |
61 |
19.6 |
51 |
22.6 |
10 |
12.7 |
0.690 |
24 |
18.8 |
37 |
20.2 |
0.774 |
| Constipation (not caused by opioid use) |
59 |
19.0 |
47 |
20.8 |
11 |
13.9 |
0.377 |
28 |
21.9 |
31 |
16.9 |
0.305 |
| Muscle cramp |
42 |
13.5 |
31 |
13.7 |
11 |
13.9 |
0.741 |
23 |
18.0 |
19 |
10.4 |
0.064 |
| Diarrhea |
40 |
12.9 |
34 |
15.0 |
6 |
7.6 |
0.136 |
16 |
12.5 |
24 |
13.1 |
1.000 |
| Anemia |
29 |
9.3 |
24 |
10.6 |
5 |
6.3 |
0.344 |
16 |
12.5 |
13 |
7.1 |
0.177 |
| Others | 11 | 3.5 | 6 | 2.7 | 5 | 6.3 | 0.325 | 4 | 3.1 | 7 | 3.8 | 0.770 |
Multiple answers allowed, p-value based on Chi-square test.