Journal of pain and symptom management
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PC-FACS (Fast Article Critical Summaries for Clinicians in Palliative Care) provides hospice and palliative care clinicians with concise summaries of the most important findings from more than 100 medical and scientific journals. If you have colleagues who would benefit from receiving PCFACS, please encourage them to join the AAHPM at aahpm.org. Comments from readers are welcomed at pc-facs@aahpm.org.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2019
ReviewA Systematic Review of Training in Symptom Management in Palliative Care within Postgraduate Medical Curriculums.
Symptom management is a priority area within palliative care core competencies for generalist providers. Although several educational initiatives exist, a comprehensive evidence synthesis on the effectiveness of symptom management training on trainees' learning and patient-reported outcomes is lacking. ⋯ Current educational training programs in symptom management appear to improve trainees' comfort, preparedness, and knowledge in assessing and managing patients' symptoms at the end of life. More rigorous research to evaluate the impact of this training on residents and organizational performance is now required.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2019
Latent Class Analysis of Specialized Palliative Care Needs in Adult Intensive Care Units from a Single Academic Medical Center.
In the intensive care unit (ICU), 14% of patients meet criteria for specialized palliative care, but whether subgroups of patients differ in their palliative care needs is unknown. ⋯ Based on the initial reason for consultation, we identified four classes of palliative care needs among critically ill patients, and GCAD patients were least likely to be high utilizers. These findings may help inform allocation of palliative care resources for this population.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialConcordance between Proxy Level of Care Preference and Advance Directives among Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Dementia: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial.
Care consistent with goals is the desired outcome of advance care planning (ACP). ⋯ Better alignment between preferences for comfort-focused care and advance directives is needed in advanced dementia. An ACP video may help achieve that goal.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2019
Observational StudyFactors related to Adherence to Opioids in Black Patients with Cancer Pain.
Cancer pain relief is often inadequate because of poor adherence to pain medication, especially for black patients. ⋯ Findings confirm pain medication adherence is poor and pain was not well relieved. Multiple factors influence adherence to around-the-clock opioids. Clinicians need to partner with patients by providing a personalized pain treatment plan including an in-depth assessment of treatment choices and adherence.