The American journal of hospice & palliative care
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Jun 2008
Comparative StudyUsing the LCP: bereaved relatives' assessments of communication and bereavement.
The Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) is aimed at improving care and communication in the dying phase. The authors studied whether use of the LCP affects relatives' retrospective evaluation of communication and their level of bereavement. An intervention study was conducted. ⋯ In the intervention period, relatives had lower bereavement levels when compared with relatives in the baseline period (P = .01). Communication was evaluated similarly for both periods. We conclude that LCP use during the dying phase seems to moderately contribute to lower levels of bereavement in relatives.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Jun 2008
Use of advance directives for nursing home residents in the emergency department.
Documented requests can ensure that patients' end-of-life care preferences are implemented, particularly in emergent circumstances. This study a) compared information on advance directives found in different sources of documentation in the hospital record of nursing home patients admitted through the emergency department and b) assessed emergency department clinicians' perceptions of how end-of-life care requests are communicated to them. ⋯ Our results suggest variability in documentation for nursing home patients on transfer to the emergency department, and that emergency department clinicians experience substantial difficulty in reliably obtaining information about advance directives. As treatment may vary based solely on available documentation, such information gaps may decrease the likelihood of adherence in the emergency department to patients' previously expressed care preferences.
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Quality of care at the end of life is strongly correlated with where patients die. This review discusses the influence of patient and health system variables affecting access to common venues of death--the acute care hospital, the nursing home, and home--with or without hospice. ⋯ Dynamic interactions between patient-specific variables and health care system variables influence the nature of patient flow, moving patients toward certain terminal venues of care and away from others. Efforts to improve quality of care at the end of life must be cognizant of these effects and should work to adjust patterns of flow in more favorable directions.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Jun 2008
Case ReportsManagement of pericatheter cerebrospinal fluid leak after intrathecal implantation of a drug delivery system.
Persistent cerebrospinal fluid leak is a known complication of intrathecal pump system insertion for drug delivery. Various treatment modalities, such as an epidural blood patch, use of glue, removal of catheter, and surgical closure of dura and subdural blood patch, have been reported previously. ⋯ This was complicated by a persistent cerebrospinal fluid leak that was successfully managed by purse-string sutures over the dura around the catheter, without removing the intrathecal implant. The cause of the cerebrospinal fluid leak and different treatment approaches are discussed.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Jun 2008
The hospital-survival and prognostic factors of patients with solid tumors admitted to an ICU.
The decision to admit a patient with cancer to the intensive care unit (ICU) is complex. There are limited data as to the outcome and prognostic factors of patients with solid tumors admitted to the ICU. A retrospective chart review was undertaken to evaluate this issue. ⋯ A total of 79 (54%) patients survived to hospital discharge, with 50 (34%) patients being discharged to home. Metastatic disease and the requirement for vasopressor agents were independent predictors of poor outcome. The relatively high survival rate of this cohort of patients should prompt a reevaluation of the ICU admission criteria for patients with solid tumors who become critically ill.