Prevalence and characteristics of breakthrough cancer pain in an outpatient clinic in a Catalan teaching hospital: incorporation of the Edmonton Classification System for Cancer pain into the diagnostic algorithm.

Prevalence of BTcP (39.34%) is similar to the one reflected in the existing literature. Study results indicate that the routine use of ECS-CP in a clinical setting allows us to detect more than one type of BTcP as well as additional complexity associated with pain (neuropathic, addictive behavior and psychological distress).