Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2020
What elements of a systems' approach to bereavement are most effective in times of mass bereavement? A narrative systematic review with lessons for COVID-19.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has left health and social care systems facing the challenge of supporting large numbers of bereaved people in difficult and unprecedented social conditions. Previous reviews have not comprehensively synthesised the evidence on the response of health and social care systems to mass bereavement events. ⋯ Despite the limitations in the quantity and quality of the evidence base, consistent messages are identified for bereavement support provision during the pandemic. High quality primary studies are needed to ensure service improvement in the current crisis and to guide future disaster response efforts.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2020
Changing patterns of mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic: Population-based modelling to understand palliative care implications.
COVID-19 has directly and indirectly caused high mortality worldwide. ⋯ The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a surge in palliative care needs. Health and social care systems must ensure availability of palliative care to support people with severe COVID-19, particularly in care homes.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2020
An audit of end-of-life symptom control in patients with corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) dying in a hospital in the United Kingdom.
The literature contains limited information on the problems faced by dying patients with COVID-19 and the effectiveness of interventions to manage these. ⋯ Patients dying of COVID-19 experience similar end-of-life problems to other groups of patients. Moreover, they generally respond to standard interventions for these end-of-life problems.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2020
Mouthpiece ventilation in the management of dyspnea: A single-arm pilot study.
Noninvasive ventilation may relieve dyspnea in advanced diseases, but noninvasive ventilation through mouthpiece has not been tested in palliative care. ⋯ Mouthpiece ventilation is feasible and may relieve dyspnea in some patients with an advanced disease. Further studies are needed, and these might concentrate on stable patients in early palliative care. Before initiation, this study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (study no. NCT03012737).