Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Aug 2011
ReviewImproving the availability and accessibility of opioids for the treatment of pain: the International Pain Policy Fellowship.
Opioid analgesics are simultaneously indispensable medicines for the treatment of moderate to severe pain and are harmful when abused. The challenge for governments is to balance the obligation to prevent diversion, trafficking, and abuse of opioids with the equally important obligation to ensure their availability and accessibility for the relief of pain and suffering. Over the last 30 years, significant progress has been made toward improving access to opioids as measured by increasing global medical opioid consumption. ⋯ The fellows from each country were successful at initiating collaboration with relevant governmental bodies, national authorities, and professional societies, which resulted in a new supply of oral opioids in Sierra Leone and Serbia, and improvements in the distribution of already available opioids in Colombia. All fellows were instrumental in facilitating evaluation of national policy. The IPPF program empowers fellows with the necessary knowledge, skills, and guidance to improve the availability and accessibility of opioids for the treatment of pain.
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Support Care Cancer · Aug 2011
Comparative StudyPredictive factors of poor prognosis in cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia.
We intended to determine the predictive factors of poor prognosis in cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia (FN). ⋯ MASCC risk-index score <21, tachypnea, thrombocytopenia, increased CRP, and prolonged neutropenia may be strongly associated with poor outcomes in cancer patients with FN.
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Support Care Cancer · Aug 2011
The initial development of an instrument to assess the psychosocial needs and unmet needs of young people who have a parent with cancer: piloting the offspring cancer needs instrument (OCNI).
This study aimed to identify the psychosocial needs of young people (12-24 years) who have a parent with cancer and to assess whether these needs are being met. This paper also presented the initial steps in the development of a need-based measure-the Offspring Cancer Needs Instrument (OCNI). ⋯ Young people (aged 12-24 years) who have a parent with cancer report a complex array of needs, many of which go unmet. The preliminary findings reported may be used to inform service providers in the development and evaluation of need-based programs to redress these unmet needs and thus ameliorate the effects of parental cancer. Services addressing information and school-based interventions are particularly pertinent given these current results.
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Support Care Cancer · Jul 2011
Pilot evaluation of a stellate ganglion block for the treatment of hot flashes.
Hot flashes are a significant problem in breast cancer patients, especially because the most effective therapy, estrogen, is often contraindicated. Based on recent pilot data from a single group supporting the use of a stellate ganglion block for the treatment of hot flashes, the present pilot trial was done to further evaluate the hypothesis that a stellate ganglion block may be a safe and effective therapy for hot flashes. ⋯ The results of this pilot trial support that stellate ganglion blocks may be a helpful therapy for hot flashes. A prospective placebo-controlled clinical trial should be done to more definitively determine this contention.
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Support Care Cancer · Jul 2011
ReviewSystematic review: malfunction of totally implantable venous access devices in cancer patients.
Malfunction of totally implantable venous access devices is a common complication. The purpose was to identify definitions used to describe malfunction and to investigate the incidence of malfunction in different types of port and catheter designs. ⋯ Heterogeneity in the definitions used to describe device malfunction was evident. A broad range in the reported incidence of malfunction and in the kind of calculation and reporting methods was also found. Methodological quality of the studies was often poor. Standardization of definitions and accurate outcome measurement is needed. Calculation and report of malfunction incidence should be based on prospective data collected at the moment of an accession attempt.