Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2013
Intranasal fentanyl in the palliative care of newborns and infants.
Perinatal palliative care is an area of increasing focus among clinicians supporting newborns and their families. Although not every newborn will survive the neonatal period, assuring their comfort and quality of life remains an imperative for their care providers. It can be challenging to administer medications such as opioids in a minimally invasive yet effective manner. ⋯ We found IN fentanyl, which can be administered in a variety of care settings, to be a minimally invasive means of palliating distress in dying newborns and infants. No adverse events related to its use were noted.
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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.