• Josep Porta-Sales, Maria Guerrero-Torrelles, Deborah Moreno-Alonso, Josep Sarrà-Escarré, Victòria Clapés-Puig, Jordi Trelis-Navarro, Anna Sureda-Balarí, and Alberto Fernández De Sevilla-Ribosa.
• Palliative Care Service, Institut Català d'Oncologia, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: jporta@iconcologia.net.
• J Pain Symptom Manage. 2017 Nov 1; 54 (5): 692-700.

ContextEvidence for the benefits of early palliative care (EPC) in patients with solid tumors is strong, but EPC has received scant attention in hematologic malignancies.ObjectiveTo assess the benefits of outpatient-based EPC for symptom control in patients with multiple myeloma.MethodsRetrospective study of patients attending the Multiple Myeloma Palliative Care Clinic at our hospital in the year 2013 (February 1-December 31). The following symptoms were assessed at baseline and at three follow-up consultations using a Numerical Visual Scale (0 = no symptoms; 10 = worst possible): pain, anorexia, constipation, insomnia, nausea/vomiting, dyspnea, anxiety, and sadness. Physical and emotional symptom burden scores were calculated. Pain interference with general activity, sleep, and mood was also evaluated.ResultsAbout 67 patients were included. The proportion of patients reporting moderate-to-severe pain (Numerical Visual Scale ≥5) decreased significantly from baseline to the final follow-up: worst pain decreased from 57% to 18% (P < 0.0001), whereas average pain fell from 24% to 2% (P < 0.0001). The percentage of patients reporting no pain interference increased significantly from baseline: general activity (52% vs. 82%; P = 0.0001), sleep (73% vs. 91%; P = 0.01), and mood (52% vs. 87.5%; P = 0.0001). Physical and emotional symptom burden also improved, with significantly fewer patients reporting depression (13% vs. 5%; P = 0.001). Most patients (86.6%) were alive and still attending the Multiple Myeloma Palliative Care Clinic at study end.ConclusionsThese findings indicate that EPC is feasible in patients with multiple myeloma. Pain and other symptoms were well controlled.Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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