Pharmacological interventions for pain and fatigue management in elderly leukemia patients: A comparative study of analgesic and antidepressant efficacy

Older leukemia patients frequently endure cancer-related pain and fatigue, impairing their daily lives and reducing treatment adherence. Pharmacological intervention is a key approach to alleviating these symptoms. This study focuses on the efficacy and safety of analgesic and anti-fatigue drugs in elderly leukemia patients, aiming to optimize drug selection for precision treatment. From January 2022 to June 2024, Taixing People's Hospital enrolled 82 elderly leukemia patients with pain and fatigue, dividing them into a control group (no analgesics) and a celecoxib group. Clinical outcomes: Pain relief, fatigue reduction, depression improvement, quality of life and adverse reactions were compared at 1, 4, and 8 weeks. The celecoxib group showed significant improvements in pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression, with better scores on the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F), Edmonton Symptom Assessment System-revised (ESAS-r), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety (HADS-A) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression (HADS-D) scales at all-time points (P<0.05). Their Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 Palliative (QLQ-C15-PAL) scores also indicated enhanced functional and overall quality of life, with lower symptom scores compared to the control group (P<0.05). No serious adverse events occurred, confirming celecoxib's safety.