Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2013
Comparing the retrospective reports of fatigue using the Fatigue Symptom Index with daily diary ratings in women receiving chemotherapy for gynecologic cancer.
Fatigue, one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy, is typically assessed via retrospective recall (e.g., over the past week). It is unknown how such retrospective recall of fatigue correlates with daily ratings among people receiving chemotherapy. ⋯ The FSI keyed to the past week accurately reflects daily ratings of fatigue among patients receiving chemotherapy. This study has important implications, as completing retrospective ratings of fatigue may be less burdensome for cancer patients than daily assessments.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2013
Comparative StudyReliability and validity of a tool to measure the severity of dysphagia: the Food Intake LEVEL Scale.
Dysphagia is one of the most prevalent and distressing symptoms among palliative care patients, and a practical assessment tool is required. ⋯ The FILS seems to have fair reliability and validity as a practical tool for assessing the severity of dysphagia. Further study on the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of the FILS compared with the FOIS is needed.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2013
Clinical TrialRelationship between pain and post-traumatic stress symptoms in palliative care.
Previous research suggests that patients receiving palliative care may simultaneously experience poorly managed pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-related symptoms as a result of their deteriorating health. ⋯ The findings of the present study reveal that pain and PTSD-related symptoms are important concerns in palliative care, and that pain must be addressed to best meet the needs of this population.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2013
Community-based palliative care: the natural evolution for palliative care delivery in the U.S.
Palliative care in the U. S. has evolved from a system primarily reliant on community-based hospices to a combined model that includes inpatient services at most large hospitals. However, these two dominant approaches leave most patients needing palliative care-those at home (including nursing homes) but not yet ready for hospice-unable to access the positive impacts of the palliative care approach. ⋯ Furthermore the examination of how to operationalize CPC is needed before widespread implementation can be realized. This article describes the key characteristics of CPC, highlighting its role in longitudinal care across patient transitions. Distinguishing features include consistent care across the disease trajectory independent of diagnosis and prognosis; inclusion of inpatient, outpatient, long-term care, and at-home care delivery; collaboration with other medical disciplines, nursing, and allied health; and full integration into the health care system (rather than parallel delivery).