Table 3.

Use of any analgesic medication within first week of NH admission among newly-admitted residents with cancer and any pain, by pain frequency and intensity^a (N = 5,311)

	Pain frequency
Pain intensity	Daily	< Daily
Severe pain	(n = 512)	(n = 205)
No analgesic	11.7	21.5
Any analgesic	88.3	78.5
Non-opioid onlyb	1.0	4.9
Level 2 drug onlyc	37.3	40.5
Level 3 drug onlyd	16.8	12.7
Non-opioid + level 2 drug	4.5	5.9
Non-opioid + level 3 drug	2.7	1.0
Level 2 drug + level 3 drug	23.4	11.2
Non-opioid + level 2 drug + level 3 drug	2.5	2.4
Adjuvante	25.6	25.4
Duration of effect (opioids only)
Short-acting	80.9	71.2
Long-acting	35.7	17.1
Formulation (opioids only)
Oral	83.8	71.7
Non-oralf	25.8	13.7
Transdermal	23.2	12.2
Intravenous/intramuscular	4.9	2.0
Moderate pain	(n = 1,536)	(n = 1,720)
No analgesic	16.9	28.3
Any analgesic	83.1	71.7
Non-opioid onlyb	2.9	3.4
Level 2 drug onlyc	48.7	45.7
Level 3 drug onlyd	9.2	6.5
Non-opioid + level 2 drug	6.6	6.2
Non-opioid + level 3 drug	1.1	1.2
Level 2 drug + level 3 drug	13.2	7.6
Non-opioid + level 2 drug + level 3 drug	1.4	1.1
Adjuvante	25.7	21.4
Duration of effect (opioids only)
Short-acting	75.1	64.8
Long-acting	21.1	12.4
Formulation (opioids only)
Oral	78.3	66.0
Non-oralf	14.8	9.7
Transdermal	13.5	8.3
Intravenous/intramuscular	1.7	1.4
Mild pain	(n = 243)	(n = 1095)
No analgesic	33.7	48.9
Any analgesic	66.3	51.1
Non-opioid onlyb	4.9	9.3
Level 2 drug onlyc	39.1	28.5
Level 3 drug onlyd	3.7	4.2
Non-opioid + level 2 drug	8.2	4.7
Non-opioid + level 3 drug	1.6	0.5
Level 2 drug + level 3 drug	6.6	3.4
Non-opioid + level 2 drug + level 3 drug	2.1	0.5
Adjuvante	23.5	19.3
Duration of effect (opioids only)
Short-acting opioid	59.3	39.5
Long-acting opioid	9.9	5.4
Formulation (opioids only)
Oral	60.9	39.5
Non-oralf	7.0	4.8
Transdermal	5.8	4.0
Intravenous/intramuscular	1.2	1.0

Percentages presented may not add to 100% due to rounding.

NH: nursing home

^aOf 5,313 NH residents with any pain, 2 have missing pain intensity data

^bClassified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a level 1 drug, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen.

^cIncludes codeine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, propoxyphene, meperidine, pentazocine, buprenorphine, nalbuphine, butorphanol and any combination of these drugs with level 1 drugs.

^dIncludes morphine, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, methadone, levorphanol and fentanyl.

^eIncludes corticosteroids, muscle relaxants, anticonvulsants, tricyclic antidepressants, selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, alpha-2-adrenergic agonists, transdermal lidocaine and mexiletine.²⁶

^fSuppository opioid formulations were used by <0.1% of the study population.