Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · Feb 2022
Patient perspectives on states worse than death: A qualitative study with implications for patient-centered outcomes and values elicitation.
Seriously ill patients rate several health outcomes as states worse than death. It is unclear what factors underlie such valuations, and whether consideration of such states is useful when making medical decisions. ⋯ Common factors underlying undesirable states suggest that for care to be patient-centered it must also be family-centered. Patients' views on using states worse than death in decision making highlight barriers to using avoidance of such states as a quality measure, but also suggest opportunities for eliciting patients' values.
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Palliative medicine · Feb 2022
Case ReportsUse of long term aprepitant as a treatment for refractory nausea following oesophageal stent insertion - a case report.
Aprepitant, a substance P neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist, is licenced for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with highly and moderately emetogenic cancer chemotherapy. ⋯ Further research of neurokinin-1 inhibitors for indications other than chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting is indicated.
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Palliative medicine · Feb 2022
Understanding the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on delivery of rehabilitation in specialist palliative care services: An analysis of the CovPall-Rehab survey data.
Palliative rehabilitation involves multi-professional processes and interventions aimed at optimising patients' symptom self-management, independence and social participation throughout advanced illness. Rehabilitation services were highly disrupted during the Covid-19 pandemic. ⋯ This study demonstrates how changes in provision of rehabilitation during the pandemic could act as a springboard for positive changes. Hybrid models of rehabilitation have the potential to expand the equity of access and reach of rehabilitation within specialist palliative care.
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Palliative medicine · Feb 2022
Implementation of an acute palliative care unit for COVID-19 patients in a tertiary hospital: Qualitative data on clinician perspectives.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become apparent that palliative care has dynamically adapted to the care of dying patients with and without COVID-19 and has developed new forms of collaboration. Evaluation is needed to assess which innovations should be integrated into future pandemic management. ⋯ Results show the feasibility of an ad hoc COVID-19 acute palliative care unit. In the event of capacity constraints, such a unit can be a viable part of future pandemic management.