Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2020
Coping skills training and acceptance and commitment therapy for symptom management: Feasibility and acceptability of a brief telephone-delivered protocol for patients with advanced cancer.
Patients with advanced cancer face a life-limiting condition that brings a high symptom burden that often includes pain, fatigue, and psychological distress. Psychosocial interventions have promise for managing symptoms but need additional tailoring for these patients' specific needs. Patients with advanced cancer in the community also face persistent barriers-availability of interventions in community clinics as well as financial and illness-related factors-to accessing psychosocial interventions. ⋯ Engage, our brief novel combined Coping Skills and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention, demonstrated initial feasibility and acceptability when delivered over the telephone and increased access for community clinic patients with advanced cancer. Future research will assess the comparative efficacy of Engage in larger randomized trials.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2020
Development and Validation of a Uremic Pruritus Treatment Algorithm and Patient Information Toolkit in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and End Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD).
Uremic pruritus (UP) affects up to half of all patients with kidney disease and has been independently associated with poor patient outcomes. UP is a challenging symptom for clinicians to manage as there are no validated guidelines for its treatment. ⋯ A treatment algorithm and patient information toolkit for managing UP in patients with kidney disease were developed and validated through expert review. Further research will be conducted on implementation of the treatment algorithm and evaluating patient-reported outcomes.
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PC-FACS (FastArticleCriticalSummaries for Clinicians inPalliativeCare) 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 pcfacs@aahpm.org.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2020
Review Meta AnalysisAcupuncture for breathlessness in advanced diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Nonpharmacological approaches are effective strategies for difficult to palliate breathlessness. Although acupuncture is effective for dyspnea in early-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), little is known about its effects in patients with advanced (non)malignant diseases. ⋯ Acupuncture improved breathlessness severity in patients with advanced diseases. The methodological heterogeneity, low power, and potential morphine-sparing effects of acupuncture as add-on should be further addressed in future trials.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2020
Review Controlled Clinical TrialImpact of Specialized Pediatric Palliative Care: A Systematic Review.
Specialized pediatric palliative care (SPPC) is increasingly involved in the care of seriously ill children, yet the evidence on its impact has not been comprehensively reviewed. ⋯ Receiving SPPC was associated with better child quality of life. However, the paucity and low certainty of the evidence precluded any firm recommendations about SPPC practice. Larger collaborative networks and greater consensus regarding SPPC research standards are needed.