Palliative & supportive care
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Palliat Support Care · Aug 2019
Validation of the Brief Edinburgh Depression Scale (BEDS) in a Mexican population with advanced cancer in a palliative care service.
Depression in palliative advanced cancer patients is common, but often goes unrecognized. One of the first steps toward improving detection is the development of tools that are valid in the specific language and setting in which they are to be used. The Brief Edinburgh Depression Scale (BEDS) is a sensitive case-finding tool for depression in advanced cancer patients that was developed in the United Kingdom. There are no validated instruments to identify depression in Mexican palliative patients. Our aim was to validate the Spanish-language version of the BEDS in Mexican population with advanced cancer. ⋯ Major depressive disorder is frequent in Mexican palliative patients. The Spanish-language Mexican version of the BEDS is the first valid case-finding tool in advanced cancer patients in this setting.
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Palliat Support Care · Aug 2019
Timing of palliative care access and outcomes of advanced cancer patients referred to an inpatient palliative care consultation team in Brazil.
Little is known about the outcomes of cancer patients referred to palliative care (PC) teams in developing countries. Our aim was to examine the timing of PC access and outcomes of patients with advanced cancer referred to an inpatient PC consultation team in Brazil. ⋯ Although PC referrals occurred exceedingly late during the cancer disease trajectory, positive changes were observed in medication profiles, clinical interventions use, and end-of-life preferences of patients with advanced cancer referred to a specialized inpatient PC consultation team in Brazil. Further efforts are needed to improve early palliative cancer care in developing countries.