Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyAn open-label extension study to investigate the long-term safety and tolerability of THC/CBD oromucosal spray and oromucosal THC spray in patients with terminal cancer-related pain refractory to strong opioid analgesics.
Chronic pain in patients with advanced cancer poses a serious clinical challenge. The Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)/cannabidiol (CBD) oromucosal spray (U.S. Adopted Name, nabiximols; Sativex(®)) is a novel cannabinoid formulation currently undergoing investigation as an adjuvant therapy for this treatment group. ⋯ This study showed that the long-term use of THC/CBD spray was generally well tolerated, with no evidence of a loss of effect for the relief of cancer-related pain with long-term use. Furthermore, patients who kept using the study medication did not seek to increase their dose of this or other pain-relieving medication over time, suggesting that the adjuvant use of cannabinoids in cancer-related pain could provide useful benefit.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2013
Clinical TrialMinimal clinically important differences in the Edmonton symptom assessment system in patients with advanced cancer.
Longitudinal symptom monitoring is important in the setting of patients with advanced cancer. Scores over time may naturally fluctuate, although a patient may feel the same. ⋯ MCIDs allow health care professionals to determine the success of treatment in improving the patient's quality of life. MCIDs may prompt health care professionals to intervene with new treatment. Future studies should confirm our findings with a variety of anchors.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2013
Association between referral-to-death interval and location of death of patients referred to a hospital-based specialist palliative care service.
The time interval between palliative care referral and death may play a role in determining the last place of care and location of death of patients referred to palliative care teams. ⋯ Longer referral-to-death interval was associated with death outside the hospital for patients enrolled in a hospital-based service. The study highlights the importance of early referral in predicting the last place of care and location of death of palliative care patients.