Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
International palliative care experts' view on phenomena indicating the last hours and days of life.
Providing the highest quality care for dying patients should be a core clinical proficiency and an integral part of comprehensive management, as fundamental as diagnosis and treatment. The aim of this study was to provide expert consensus on phenomena for identification and prediction of the last hours or days of a patient's life. This study is part of the OPCARE9 project, funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme. ⋯ Experts from different professional backgrounds identified a set of categories describing a structure within which clinical phenomena can be clinically assessed, in order to more accurately predict whether someone will die within the next days or hours. However, these phenomena need further specification for clinical use.
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
Pre-emptive skin toxicity treatment for anti-EGFR drugs: evaluation of efficacy of skin moisturizers and lymecycline. A phase II study.
Anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) target therapies like erlotinib for metastatic lung cancer and cetuximab or panitumumab for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) cause skin reaction that seems to be related to treatment efficacy. Skin toxicity evaluation protocol with panitumumab study has shown that preemptive treatment reduces the incidence of ≥Grade 2 (G2) skin toxicity in mCRC treated with panitumumab. Aim of this study is to evaluate if preemptive skin toxicity treatment with different drugs has good efficacy in patients receiving anti-EGFR therapies, such as cetuximab, panitumumab, and erlotinib, for mCRC and metastatic lung cancer. ⋯ Data show efficacy of preemptive treatment with a well-tolerated profile. A reduction of severe skin toxicities is shown with an increase of grade 1 toxicities, not leading to anti-EGFR dose reduction and with better quality of life for patients.
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
Observational StudyOutcome and predictors of mortality in patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation due to acute respiratory failure while undergoing ambulatory chemotherapy for solid cancers.
Acute respiratory failure that requires invasive mechanical ventilation is a leading cause of death in critically ill cancer patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome and prognostic factors of patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilator for acute respiratory failure, within 1 month of ambulatory chemotherapy for solid cancer. ⋯ The outcome of patients with acute respiratory failure needing invasive mechanical ventilation during ambulatory chemotherapy for solid cancer is poor. Prechemotherapy performance status is an independent predictor of mortality.
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
Diagnostic criteria of cancer cachexia: relation to quality of life, exercise capacity and survival in unselected palliative care patients.
Cachexia is associated with adverse outcomes. There is limited information on the impact of different diagnostic criteria of cachexia on patient centered outcomes. ⋯ Weight loss, fatigue and markers of systemic inflammation were most strongly and consistently associated with adverse QoL, reduced functional abilities, more symptoms and shorter survival. The prevalence of cachexia using different definitions varied widely; indicating a need to further explore and validate diagnostic criteria for cancer cachexia.
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Support Care Cancer · Jun 2013
The perceptions and experiences of nurses and bereaved families towards bereavement care in an oncology unit.
Existing bereavement literature focuses on the care provided in palliative care units or community settings. However, nurses in oncology units are in a unique position to provide bereavement care, which is care extended to the families after the death of cancer patients. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of bereavement care among nurses and bereaved family members in an oncology unit in Hong Kong. ⋯ The findings revealed that there is room for improvement in current bereavement care. Family members were committed to patient care and they expressed their need for more involvement in the patient care, which could result in a positive impact on their grief and loss experience. Nurses were committed to quality care, and they expressed their need for more training on knowledge, skills and attitudes to improve their readiness and competencies in the provision of bereavement care.