The American journal of hospice & palliative care
-
Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Dec 2015
The preference of place of death and its predictors among terminally ill patients with cancer and their caregivers in China.
To describe the preference of place of death among Chinese patients with cancer and their caregivers and to identify factors associated with the preference. ⋯ This study described information about the preference of place of death and its potential predictive factors in terminally ill patients with cancer in mainland of China.
-
Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Dec 2015
Ketamine PCA for Treatment of End-of-Life Neuropathic Pain in Pediatrics.
Control of neuropathic pain (NP) for children at end of life is challenging. Ketamine improves control of NP, but its use in children is not well described. We describe a retrospective case review of 14 children with terminal prognoses treated with ketamine patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) for management of opioid-refractory NP at the end of life. ⋯ Benzodiazepines limited neuropsychiatric side effects. Ketamine treatment arrested dose escalation of opioids in 64% of patients, and 79% were discharged to home hospice. Ketamine PCA is an effective, well-tolerated therapy for opioid-refractory NP in pediatric end-of-life care.