Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialCOMPASS: A Pilot Trial of an Early Palliative Care Intervention for Patients with End Stage Liver Disease.
Palliative care interventions have shown promise in improving quality of life and reducing health-care utilization among patients with chronic organ failure. ⋯ Logistical obstacles hindered completion of the trial as originally designed. Nevertheless, a preemptive palliative care intervention resulted in increased time to first readmission and more days alive outside the hospital in the first six months after study entry.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2019
Comparative StudyA Comparison of Rural and Urban Hospice Family Caregivers' Cancer Pain Knowledge and Experience.
Family caregivers play a vital role in managing the pain of hospice patients with cancer; however, caregivers' knowledge of pain management principles and experiences as pain managers vary widely. Differences in cultural values and access to resources suggest that rural and urban hospice family caregivers may differ with regard to their pain knowledge and experience, but this has not been empirically investigated. ⋯ Rural hospice family caregivers report greater pain knowledge deficits than urban hospice family caregivers, although the two groups report comparable pain management experiences. Additional research is needed to better explain observed differences.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2019
The Current Practice of Opioid for Cancer Dyspnea: The Result from the Nationwide Survey of Japanese Palliative Care Physicians.
Morphine is recommended as the first-line pharmacological therapy for cancer dyspnea. However, the detailed practice of morphine has not been evaluated and consensus about other opioids for cancer dyspnea has not been established. ⋯ Among Japanese palliative care physicians, using oxycodone for cancer dyspnea was relatively popular practice, whereas fentanyl was not. Oxycodone was the most preferred opioid for cancer dyspnea in the setting of renal insufficiency among Japanese palliative care physicians. We should conduct studies to confirm the safety and effectiveness of these opioid practices for cancer dyspnea.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2019
QTc Interval Prolongation in Pediatric and Young Adult Patients on Methadone for Cancer Related Pain.
Methadone has been reported to prolong the corrected QT (QTc) interval and increase the risk of torsades de pointes. ⋯ Clinically significant prolongation of the QTc interval occurred only in one patient who had a history of prolonged QTc. Prolonged QTc is rare in this population.