Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Jun 2020
Ethical and research governance approval across Europe: Experiences from three European palliative care studies.
Research requires high-quality ethical and governance scrutiny and approval. However, when research is conducted across different countries, this can cause challenges due to the differing ethico-legal framework requirements of ethical boards. There is no specific guidance for research which does not involve non-medicinal products. ⋯ Researchers need to take the differences in research approval procedures into account when planning studies. Future research is needed to establish European-wide recommendations for policy and practice that dovetail ethical procedures and enhance transnational research collaborations.
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Palliative medicine · Jun 2020
Specialist paediatric palliative care for children and young people with cancer: A mixed-methods systematic review.
Specialist paediatric palliative care services are promoted as an important component of palliative care provision, but there is uncertainty about their role for children with cancer. ⋯ Current evidence suggests that children and young people with cancer receiving specialist palliative care are cared for differently. However, little is understood about children's views, and research is needed to determine whether specialist input improves quality of life.
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Palliative medicine · Jun 2020
Case ReportsRepeated subcutaneous esketamine administration for depressive symptoms and pain relief in a terminally ill cancer patient: A case report.
Depressive disorders are common among cancer patients. Ketamine can quickly relieve depression, and its subcutaneous administration appears to be as effective as and probably safer than its standard intravenous administration. Herein, we report a case verifying the antidepressant effect of a subcutaneous esketamine formulation. ⋯ Placebo-controlled studies with similar cases are needed to establish efficacy and safety.
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Palliative medicine · Jun 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialHow short is too short? A randomised controlled trial evaluating short-term existential behavioural therapy for informal caregivers of palliative patients.
Informal caregivers of palliative patients show higher levels of depression and distress compared with the general population. Fegg's (2013) existential behavioural therapy was shortened to two individual 1-h sessions (short-term existential behavioural therapy). ⋯ Inclusion rate was tripled compared with a previously evaluated longer EBT group intervention. By shortening the intervention, inclusion rate was traded for effectiveness and the intervention could not impact caregivers' psychological state. Early integration of sEBT and combination of individual and group setting and further study of the optimal length for caregiver interventions are suggested.
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Palliative medicine · Jun 2020
Prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms on palliative care patients in a university hospital-bound palliative care unit: A prospective cohort analysis.
Multidrug-resistant organisms are a growing challenge and burden to patient care. To date, there are only data concerning the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. Thus, numbers of other multidrug-resistant organisms can only be extrapolated and inferred from more or less comparable cohorts. ⋯ There is a high prevalence of all multidrug-resistant organisms within the hospitalized palliative care patients. However, the multidrug-resistant organisms do not seem to impact the survival within this cohort. Further studies should evaluate additional end-points, for example, quality of life, which are of special interest in this cohort.