Adverse events of opioids for cancer-related pain in a resource-limited setting: a cross-sectional study from Sudan

Aim: Data on the adverse events of opioids for cancer-related pain in Sudanese patients are limited. We conducted this study to evaluate the pattern and severity of adverse events of immediate release morphine, and tramadol used in the treatment of cancer-related pain. A secondary aim was to determine the response rate to opioids for pain control in cancer patients treated at the National Cancer Institute-University of Gezira (NCI-UG), Sudan. Methods: value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant in all analyses. Results: value < 0.005). Pain was controlled in 36% of patients, improved in 53% and not controlled in 11% of them. Conclusion: This study shows a high prevalence of opioids-related adverse events. The majority of the opioids-related adverse events were grade I or grade II. There seem to be differences in the prevalence of opioids-related adverse events between patients receiving tramadol and those treated with morphine. Moreover, suboptimal pain control adds to the burden on already limited health resources. Therefore, the adequacy of cancer pain management in our setting should be systematically evaluated and effective cancer pain management programmes should be developed.