Cited by 795Pain Management and Opioid UsePalliative Care and End-of-Life IssuesPalliative and Oncologic Care

The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System 25 years later: past, present, and future developments

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Hui, David, Bruera, Eduardo·2017·Journal of Pain and Symptom Management

Abstract

Context Routine symptom assessment represents the cornerstone of symptom management. Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) is one of the first quantitative symptom assessment batteries that allows for simple and rapid documentation of multiple patient-reported symptoms at the same time.Objectives To discuss the historical development of ESAS, its current uses in different settings, and future developments.Methods Narrative review.Results Since its development in 1991, ESAS has been psychometrically validated and translated into over 20 languages. We will discuss the variations, advantages, and limitations with ESAS. From the clinical perspective, ESAS is now commonly used for symptom screening and longitudinal monitoring in patients seen by palliative care, oncology, nephrology, and other disciplines in both inpatient and outpatient settings. From the research perspective, ESAS has offered important insights into the nature of symptom trajectory, symptom clusters, and symptom modulators. Furthermore, multiple clinical studies have incorporated ESAS as a study outcome and documented the impact of various interventions on symptom burden. On the horizon, multiple groups are actively investigating further refinements to ESAS, such as incorporating it in electronic health records, using ESAS as a trigger for palliative care referral, and coupling ESAS with personalized symptom goals to optimize symptom response assessment.Conclusion ESAS has evolved over the past 25 years to become an important symptom assessment instrument in both clinical practice and research. Future efforts are needed to standardize this tool and explore its full potential to support symptom management.

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  1. [123]Follwell M Burman D Le LW Phase II study of an outpatient palliative care intervention in patients with metastatic cancer Journal of clinical oncology: official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2009 27 206 213 19064979
  2. [126]Lefkowits C Rabow WM Sherman EA Predictors of high symptom burden in gynecologic oncology outpatients: who should be referred to outpatient palliative care? Gynecologic oncology 2014 132 698 702 24472408
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Authors
Hui, D., & Bruera, E.
Affiliations
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (US)
Corresponding author
Hui, David
Venue
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-03
Volume
53
Issue
3
Pages
630-643
ISSN
0885-3924 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2563130015
Cited by
795
References
129
Citations by year
2026: 94 · 2025: 112 · 2024: 116 · 2023: 111 · 2022: 92 · 2021: 109 · 2020: 70 · 2019: 48 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 10 · 2014: 1
FWCI
5.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • American Cancer Society Mentored Research
  • Applied and Clinical Research (MRSG-14-1418-01-CCE)
  • National Institutes of Health (R21CA186000-01A1)
  • Andrew Sabin Family Fellowship
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Opioid Use
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Palliative and Oncologic Care
Keywords
Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, symptom assessment, patient-reported symptoms, symptom screening, symptom monitoring, symptom trajectories, symptom clusters, symptom burden, palliative care, psychometric validation, electronic health records, palliative care referral
MeSH terms
Humans, Severity of Illness Index, Symptom Assessment

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