Continuous Epidural Analgesia for Pain Management in a Peritoneal Carcinoma Patient: A Case Report

Background: Annually, more than 10 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer. Peritoneal carcinoma is a rare disease that occurs worldwide. Cancer-related pain is one of the most frequently found complications in advanced cancer patients. Chronic pain due to cancer can reduce the patient's quality of life. Providing interventional therapy is the ultimate step in the pain management stage. In this case, the patient experienced cancer pain that had metastasized into a maximum scale and had received polypharmacy to overcome the pain. The administration of epidural analgesics was proven to be able to overcome cancer pain. Case Description: a 52-year-old female patient came with peritoneal carcinomatosis that metastasized to the abdominal area; the cancer had been a residual mass originating from a previous colon cancer. The patient had a history of a couple of surgeries due to appendicitis and colon cancer. Based on physical examination, the patient experienced severe pain with a Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score of 10. Therefore, intervention therapy was crucial to reduce pain in this case. Epidural administration of local anesthetics with low concentrations and low doses of morphine can provide effective analgesia for high-level cancer pain without causing side effects such as nausea, vomiting, or hypotension. Conclusion: Continuous epidural analgesia is a type of interventional therapy that can be used to treat cancer pain. Epidural analgesia can provide medication targeting local pain receptors while minimizing systemic side effects.