Journal of pain and symptom management
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We met each other through academic medicine, in search for answers, and found friendship. Its value in my life was abundant, unearned grace. In Dr. Curtis, I learned the truth of the words of Thomas Mann, "Illness was merely transformed love."
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2022
ReviewProPACC: Protocol for a Trial of Integrated Specialty Palliative Care for Critically Ill Older Adults.
Each year, approximately one million older adults die in American intensive care units (ICUs) or survive with significant functional impairment. Inadequate symptom management, surrogates' psychological distress and inappropriate healthcare use are major concerns. Pioneering work by Dr. J. Randall Curtis paved the way for integrating palliative care (PC) specialists to address these needs, but convincing proof of efficacy has not yet been demonstrated. ⋯ This trial will provide robust evidence about the impact of integrating SPC with critical care on patient, family, and health system outcomes.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2022
ReviewDesigning Psychosocial Intervention Pilot Studies: A Tutorial for Palliative Care Investigators.
This is a tutorial on designing a persuasive pilot study of a psychosocial intervention (e.g., behavioral symptom management) in the palliative care setting. This tutorial is most relevant for early stages of intervention research that aims to progress toward a randomized controlled trial with a high degree of internal validity. Broadly, a pilot study aims to address multiple elements of feasibility and acceptability so that investigators are well positioned for the next study in their program of research. ⋯ We elaborate on these goals by describing an ongoing pilot study testing the feasibility and acceptability of a psychosocial pain management intervention for patients with advanced cancer. Pilot studies are crucial for building a successful program of research, but they are also limited in terms of their sample size and overall objectives. A persuasive pilot study is one that is limited yet useful rather than limited and trivial.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2022
ReviewBibliometric Network Analysis on Rapid-Onset Opioids for Breakthrough Cancer Pain Treatment.
Proper breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP) management is of pivotal importance. Although rapid-acting, oral and nasal transmucosal, fentanyl formulations (rapid-onset opioids, ROOs) are licensed for BTcP treatment, not all guidelines recommend their use. Presumably, some research gaps need to be bridged to produce solid evidence. We present a bibliometric network analysis on ROOs for BTcP treatment. ⋯ In this research area, most articles are published in top-ranked journals. Nevertheless, paramount topics should be better addressed, and the implementation of research networks is needed.