Sign or Symptom
breakthrough pain
break·through pain [ brayk-throo payn ]
Subclass of:
Esthesia;
Pain
Definitions related to breakthrough pain:
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A episode of severe pain that breaks through (i.e., temporarily exacerbates) a period of persistent pain.Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO)The Human Phenotype Ontology Project, 2021
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Acute pain that comes on rapidly despite the use of pain medication.NLM Medical Subject HeadingsU.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
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Intense increases in pain that occur with rapid onset even when pain-control medication is being used. Breakthrough pain can occur spontaneously or in relation to a specific activity.NCI Dictionary of Cancer TermsU.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
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Many people with chronic cancer-related pain experience intermittent flares of pain that can occur even though a person is taking analgesic medications on a fixed schedule for pain control. These severe flares of pain are called breakthrough pain because the pain "breaks through" the regular pain medication.NCI ThesaurusU.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
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