Journal of pain and symptom management
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Measuring the quality of dying (QOD) experience is important for hospice providers. However, few instruments exist that assess one's QOD; and those that do have not been well validated in hospice. ⋯ Although further testing of the QOD-Hospice measures is needed, preliminary evidence suggests that the instruments are reliable and valid for use in hospice.
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Relatively few data are available about symptoms among cancer patients. ⋯ Most recently diagnosed lung and colorectal cancer patients have cancer-related symptoms regardless of stage, and more than half have at least one moderate/severe symptom.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialThe role of central and peripheral muscle fatigue in postcancer fatigue: a randomized controlled trial.
Postcancer fatigue is a frequently occurring problem, impairing quality of life. Little is known about (neuro)physiological factors determining postcancer fatigue. It may be hypothesized that postcancer fatigue is characterized by low peripheral muscle fatigue and high central muscle fatigue. ⋯ Postcancer fatigue is neither characterized by abnormally high central muscle fatigue nor by low peripheral muscle fatigue. These findings suggest a difference in the underlying physiological mechanism of postcancer fatigue vs. other fatigue syndromes.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2015
Comparative StudyComparison of ECOG/WHO performance status and ASA score as a measure of functional status.
The Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group/World Health Organization Performance Status (ECOG/WHO PS) is a prognostic factor. It should be used in analyzing health outcomes such as risk-adjusted hospital performance models in cancer populations. Performance status is rarely recorded in surgery, often the place where cancer is first diagnosed. Could a universally collected preoperative measure be substituted for ECOG/WHO PS? ⋯ The ASA score can be used as a proxy for ECOG/WHO PS in risk adjustment models predicting cancer surgery. Further studies should assess its broader application for other outcomes and in other settings.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2015
Quality of palliative care for patients with advanced cancer in a community consortium.
Measuring quality of care delivery is essential to palliative care program growth and sustainability. We formed the Carolinas Consortium for Palliative Care and collected a quality data registry to monitor our practice and inform quality improvement efforts. ⋯ Analyzing data on quality is feasible and valuable in community-based palliative care. Overall, processes to collect data on quality using nontechnology methods may underestimate true adherence to quality measures.