Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialExploring oral literacy in communication with hospice caregivers.
Low oral literacy has been identified as a barrier to pain management for informal caregivers who receive verbal instructions on pain medication and pain protocols. ⋯ As the grade level of talk with caregivers and hospice teams increased, associated caregiver anxiety increased. Caregivers with higher anxiety also experienced greater difficulty in understanding pain medication and its management. Specific adjustments that hospice teams can make to improve caregiver experiences are identified.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2013
Changes in symptom intensity among cancer patients receiving outpatient palliative care.
Symptom changes are usually reported using summary statistics such as mean and/or median, which may obscure the treatment effect. ⋯ A considerable proportion of patients with moderate or severe intensity at baseline still had symptoms with an ESAS score of four or more. Patients with absent/mild intensities at baseline complained of symptom exacerbation at the first follow-up visit. Various strategies are needed to optimize symptom control in advanced cancer.
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Therapeutic Reviews aim to provide essential independent information for health professionals about drugs used in palliative and hospice care. Additional content is available on www.palliativedrugs.com. Country-specific books (Hospice and Palliative Care Formulary USA, and Palliative Care Formulary, British and Canadian editions) are also available and can be ordered from www.palliativedrugs.com. The series editors welcome feedback on the articles (hq@palliativedrugs.com).
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2013
New approaches to understand cognitive changes associated with chemotherapy for non-central nervous system tumors.
Researchers have described a constellation of cognitive deficits (e.g., impairments in executive functions, working memory, attention, and information-processing speed) associated with cancer treatment, and specifically chemotherapy, for non-central nervous system tumors. However, findings have been inconsistent, largely because of measurement and study design issues. ⋯ There is a need to apply new research approaches to understand the real-world functional implications of the cognitive side effects of chemotherapy to develop and implement strategies to minimize and remediate these effects before, during, and after cancer treatment.