Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2020
Observational StudySleep quality in hospitalized patients with advanced cancer: an observational study using self-reports of sleep and actigraphy.
Although patients with advanced cancer report poor sleep quality, few studies have assessed sleep quality with a combination of subjective and objective measures. We aimed to examine sleep quality in hospitalized patients with advanced cancer by combining patient-reported outcome-measures (PROMs) and polysomnography (PSG) or actigraphy. ⋯ PROMs and actigraphy documented poor sleep quality, but a lack of agreement across methods. The study demonstrates a need to improve assessment of sleep quality and treatment of sleep disturbance in hospitalized patients with advanced cancer near end of life.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2020
Observational StudyPain management index (PMI)-does it reflect cancer patients' wish for focus on pain?
The pain management index (PMI) was developed to combine information about the prescribed analgesics and the self-reported pain intensity in order to assess physicians' response to patients' pain. However, PMI has been used to explore undertreatment of cancer pain. The present study explores prevalence of negative PMI and its associations to clinical variables, including the patient-perceived wish for more attention to pain. ⋯ A high prevalence of negative PMI was observed, but only 1/5 of patients with a negative PMI wanted more attention to pain by their physician. Our findings challenge the use of PMI as a measure of undertreatment of cancer pain.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2020
Patient-reported outcomes in light of supportive medications in treatment-naïve lung cancer patients.
The impact of supportive medications on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) has not been systematically evaluated. We describe the supportive medications used by treatment-naïve lung cancer patients and assess their association with PROs from MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI). ⋯ Our results suggest a need for better screening for pain and depression and optimization of pain management in treatment-naïve lung cancer patients since their poor functional status may result in suboptimal cancer therapy.
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Support Care Cancer · Apr 2020
Which symptoms and problems do advanced cancer patients admitted to specialized palliative care report in addition to those included in the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL? A register-based national study.
Patients in palliative care are willing to answer short questionnaires, like the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL; however, patients may suffer from other symptoms and problems (S/Ps) not covered by such questionnaires. Therefore, to identify which other S/Ps patients experience, in addition to those already included in the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL, we developed a brief instrument to supplement this questionnaire named WISP (Write In three Symptoms/Problems), permitting patients to report 1-3 additional S/Ps and their severity. We aim to investigate the nature, prevalence, and severity of S/Ps reported on WISP. ⋯ The WISP instrument strongly improves the recognition of S/Ps by combining standardization with individualization. We recommend its use for comprehensive symptom assessment alongside the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL, and potentially also alongside the EORTC QLQ-C30.