Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2023
Review Meta AnalysisEffectiveness of Virtual Reality in Symptom Management of Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Although the survival rate of cancer patients has been increasing, such patients often experience severe physical and psychological burdens due to the effects of the disease and therapy. Multiple virtual reality (VR)-based interventions have been used to help improve physical and psychological symptoms and quality of life in cancer patients. ⋯ VR interventions were effective in improving physical and psychological symptoms in cancer patients. Due to the limited number of studies, small sample sizes, and moderate to high heterogeneity, these results should be interpreted with caution. More rigorous, comprehensive and high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed to validate the results of this study.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Apr 2023
Review Meta AnalysisHome-Based Specialized Pediatric Palliative Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Although specialized pediatric palliative care (SPPC) teams increasingly provide home-based care, the evidence of its impact has not yet been systematically evaluated. ⋯ This systematic review suggests that home-based SPPC is associated with increased likelihood of home death, and might be associated with improved quality of life and reduced symptom burden. The small number of studies and an overall high risk of bias, however, makes the overall strength of evidence low.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 2023
Review Meta AnalysisAcupuncture for uremic pruritus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Uremic pruritus (UP) is a chronic disease that can seriously affect the quality of life of dialysis patients. Acupuncture is a non-medication therapy that has been used to treat pruritus disorders. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture for the treatment of UP. ⋯ Adverse events were reported in only three studies, including one case of hyperphosphatemia in the medications group (RR=0.29, 95% CI=0.01 to 7.06, P=0.45). None of the studies reported recurrence rates. In conclusion, acupuncture is a safe treatment modality for patients with UP receiving hemodialysis that can effectively improve UP symptoms, and acupuncture in combination with hemodialysis has more efficacy than hemodialysis alone in improving the UP symptoms.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2022
Review Meta AnalysisCannabis in palliative care: a systematic review of current evidence.
Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life in patients with incurable illness. Medicinal cannabis (MC) has been used in the palliative care setting to address multiple symptoms in patients. ⋯ While positive treatment effects have been reported for some MC products in the palliative care setting, further high quality evidence is needed to support recommendations for its use in clinical practice.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2022
Review Meta AnalysisCan noninvasive brain stimulation improve pain and depressive symptoms in patients with neuropathic pain? A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Noninvasive brain stimulations (NIBS) have been increasingly applied to the patients with neuropathic pain (NP), while the effectiveness of NIBS in the management of NP is still conflicting. ⋯ This meta-analysis revealed the analgesic effect of NIBS on patients with NP, while no beneficial effect was observed on reducing concomitant depression symptoms. The findings recommended the clinical application of NIBS in patients with NP.