Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2019
Circadian rhythmicity as a predictor of quality of life in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant patients.
Quality of life (QoL) is increasingly recognized as an important outcome of cancer treatment. Previous studies have examined clinical predictors of QoL, but with the increasing prevalence of wearable sensors that monitor sleep and activity patterns, further investigation into whether these behaviors are predictive of post-treatment QoL is now feasible. Among patients receiving aggressive cancer treatment such as hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), analysis of circadian rhythms (24-hour patterns of sleep and activity) via wearable sensors is limited. ⋯ Our findings suggest that wearable sensor information is a promising method of predicting recovery of QoL after HCT. Additional studies are needed to confirm these findings in a larger sample.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2019
A prospective cohort study of factors associated with place of death among patients with late stage cancer in southern Africa.
Identifying factors that affect terminally ill patients' preferences for and actual place of death may assist patients to die wherever they wish. ⋯ Most patients preferred to die at home, but most died in hospital and fewer than half died in their preferred setting. Further research on modifiable factors, such as effective communication, access to palliative care and morphine, may ensure that more cancer patients in South Africa die wherever they wish.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2019
ReviewClinically significant drug-drug interactions involving medications used for symptom control in patients with advanced malignant disease. A systematic review.
Most patients with advanced malignant disease need to take several drugs to control symptoms. This treatment raises risks of serious adverse effects and drug-drug interactions (DDIs). ⋯ Drugs used for symptom control in patients with advanced cancer may cause serious DDIs. Although there is limited evidence for the risk of clinically significant DDIs, physicians treating patients with cancer should try to limit polypharmacy, avoid drug combinations with a high risk of DDIs, and closely monitor patients for adverse drug reactions.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2019
Letter Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyChallenges in Recruiting Patients to a Controlled Feasibility Study of a Drug for Opioid-Induced Constipation: Lessons From the Population With Advanced Cancer.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2019
The Surprise Question Can Be Used to Identify Heart Failure Patients in the Emergency Department Who Would Benefit from Palliative Care.
Heart failure (HF) is associated with symptom exacerbations and risk of mortality after an emergency department (ED) visit. Although emergency physicians (EPs) treat symptoms of HF, often the opportunity to connect with palliative care is missed. The "surprise question" (SQ) "Would you be surprised if this patient died in the next 12 months?" is a simple tool to identify patients at risk for 12-month mortality. ⋯ The SQ screening tool can assist ED providers in identifying HF patients that would benefit from early palliative care involvement.