Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2013
Overcoming barriers to recruitment in care of the dying research in hospitals.
Approximately 40% of the U.S. and 60% of the U.K. population die in hospital. Many reports have highlighted variability in the care received by these patients and national initiatives have proposed strategies to improve this care. No studies have demonstrated whether any improvements in end-of-life care have been achieved, as research in this area is challenging. ⋯ We have shown that identifying and involving dying patients in research is possible and acceptable to patients and carers.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialMusic therapy reduces pain in palliative care patients: a randomized controlled trial.
Treatment of pain in palliative care patients is challenging. Adjunctive methods of pain management are desirable. Music therapy offers a nonpharmacologic and safe alternative. ⋯ A significantly greater decrease in numeric rating scale pain scores was seen in the music therapy group (difference in means [95% CI] -1.4 [-2.0, -0.8]; P<0.0001). Mean changes in Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability scores did not differ between study groups (mean difference -0.3, [95% CI] -0.8, 0.1; P>0.05). Mean change in Functional Pain Scale scores was significantly greater in the music therapy group (difference in means -0.5 [95% CI] -0.8, 0.3; P<0.0001) [corrected]: A single music therapy intervention incorporating therapist-guided autogenic relaxation and live music was effective in lowering pain in palliative care patients.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2013
Understanding palliative care on the heart failure care team: an innovative research methodology.
There is a growing call to integrate palliative care for patients with advanced heart failure (HF). However, the knowledge to inform integration efforts comes largely from interview and survey research with individual patients and providers. This work has been critically important in raising awareness of the need for integration, but it is insufficient to inform solutions that must be enacted not by isolated individuals but by complex care teams. Research methods are urgently required to support systematic exploration of the experiences of patients with HF, family caregivers, and health care providers as they interact as a care team. ⋯ We anticipate that this innovative methodology will support groundbreaking research in both HF care and other team settings in which palliative integration efforts are emerging for patients with advanced nonmalignant disease.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2013
Letter Case ReportsLocked-in syndrome as a result of cyclizine administration.