Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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A novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, was first reported as a respiratory illness in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Since then, the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Committee declared a global health. COVID-19 has now spread worldwide and is responsible of more than 472,216 persons, out of 9,100,090 officially diagnosed worldwide since 23 of June. ⋯ In our cancer center, intensivists, oncologists, pharmacists, and hospital administrators had to prepare for a substantial increase in critical care bed capacity (from 10 ICU beds, 6 medical intensive care beds, and 12 surgical intensive care beds, bed capacity was increased to 28 medical intensive care beds with ventilating capacity) and to adapt infrastructure (i.e., ICU beds), supplies (i.e., drugs, ventilators, protective materials), and staff (i.e., nurses and medical staff). Overall, thirty-three COVID-19 patients were admitted in our ICU, 17 cancer-free and 16 with cancer, and 23 required mechanical ventilation, resulting in 4 deaths (of them two patients with cancer). We report here management of a dedicated intensive care unit of a cancer center during the COVID-19 infection pandemic, considering resource allocation and redistribution of healthcare workers.
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Support Care Cancer · Sep 2020
A Chinese version of the chemotherapy-induced alopecia distress scale based on reliability and validity assessment in breast cancer patients.
Chemotherapy-induced alopecia is a common and emotionally traumatic side effect on breast cancer patients. In order to make up for the deficiency of measuring tools in China, our study aims at translating the chemotherapy-induced alopecia distress scale (CADS) into Chinese and evaluating the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of CADS (CADS-C) in breast cancer patients. ⋯ The scale appears to be a reliable and valid tool to measure chemotherapy-induced alopecia distress among breast cancer patients in China.
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Support Care Cancer · Sep 2020
The impact of the caregiver-oncologist relationship on caregiver experiences of end-of-life care and bereavement outcomes.
The quality of the relationship between oncologists and cancer patients has been associated with caregiver bereavement outcomes, but no studies have examined whether the perceived quality of the relationship between cancer caregivers and oncologists is associated with caregiver experiences of end-of-life care or psychological adjustment after the patient's death. ⋯ Caregivers' early experiences with oncologists may affect their experiences of the patient's end-of-life care.
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Support Care Cancer · Sep 2020
The impact of palliative care consults on deprescribing in palliative cancer patients.
The transition from active cancer treatment to palliative care often results in a shift in drug risk-benefit assessment which requires the deprescribing of various medications. Deprescribing in palliative cancer patients can benefit patients by reducing their pill burden, decrease potential side effects, and potentially decrease healthcare costs. In addition, a change in patients' goals of care (GOC) necessitates the alteration of drug therapy which includes both deprescribing and the addition of medications intended to improve quality of life. Depending on a patient's GOC, a medication can be considered as inappropriate. ⋯ This study shows the positive impact a PCC has on deprescribing and reveals the importance of using guidelines for deprescribing in palliative cancer patients.
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Support Care Cancer · Sep 2020
Subcapsular orchiectomy versus total orchiectomy and LHRH analogue in the treatment of hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer: a different perspective in evaluation of the psychosocial effects.
We aimed to compare total orchiectomy, subcapsular orchiectomy, and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) analogue treatment in patients with hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer in terms of efficacy of androgen deprivation treatment (ADT), patient satisfaction, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), development of phantom testis syndrome (PTS), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ⋯ Subcapsular orchiectomy has less psychosocial side effects than total orchiectomy and is similar to LHRH analogue treatment. It can be a reliable, cheaper, and fast-acting alternative to LHRH analogue treatment.