Journal of pain and symptom management
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Palliative care (PC) for seriously ill surgical patients, including aligning treatments with patients' goals and managing symptoms, is associated with improved patient-oriented outcomes and decreased health care utilization. However, efforts to integrate PC alongside restorative surgical care are limited by the lack of a consensus definition for serious illness in the perioperative context. ⋯ We identified a consensus definition for serious illness in surgery. Opportunities remain in measuring the prevalence, identifying health trajectories, and developing screening criteria to integrate PC with restorative surgical care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2019
Dying with unrelieved pain - prescription of opioids is not enough.
Fear of pain resonates with most people, in particular, in relation to dying. Despite this, there are still people dying with unrelieved pain. ⋯ Despite almost complete prescription of opioids PRN for patients with pain, patients die with unrelieved pain. Health care providers, hospitals in particular, need to focus more on pain in dying patients. An EoL conversation is one achievable intervention.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2019
Palliative Care Opportunities Among Adults with Congenital Heart Disease - A Systematic Review.
Little is known about advance care planning (ACP) and palliative care needs among adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD). ⋯ While few ACHD patients complete advance directives, our findings support that many ACHD patients recognize the value of initiating end-of-life and goals of care conversations early on in the course of illness. Future studies investigating communication and implementation strategies of ACP as well as the symptom experience of patients with ACHD are needed.