Journal of palliative medicine
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Communication is an ongoing challenge for clinicians working with people facing life-threatening illnesses and end of life. Family conferences offer patient-focused, family-oriented care that brings together patients, family members, and health care providers. ⋯ Physicians and other health care professionals can use the model as a guide for conducting family conferences and strengthening communication with patients, families and colleagues.
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Milnacipran is one of the classes of drugs that are serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). It is a promising drug for the treatment of neuropathic pain in patients with advanced cancer. However, we found that neuromuscular and somatosensory disorders occurred when milnacipran was used as an adjuvant analgesic. ⋯ This is the first report that demonstrates an adverse reaction of milnacipran when used as an analgesic adjuvant, and not as an antidepressant drug, for neuropathic pain in patients with advanced cancer. The analgesic effect of SNRIs will likely be used in the management of neuropathic pain in the future; however, clinicians should be aware of the early adverse reactions to these agents.
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We assessed key aspects of the quality of end-of-life care using validated explicit process quality measures in an academic medical center (hospital and cancer center) before expanding to a broader palliative care initiative. ⋯ In conclusion, Cancer Quality-ASSIST indicators are useful for practical quality assessment of cancer end-of-life care in an academic medical center. These results will serve as useful data for targeting areas for quality improvement and measuring progress.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Components of early outpatient palliative care consultation in patients with metastatic nonsmall cell lung cancer.
Although palliative care consultation is recommended early in the course of oncology treatment, little evidence exists to guide the nature of this intervention. We describe a clinical practice of early palliative care consultation that improved quality of life, mood, and survival in a randomized clinical trial. ⋯ Initial palliative care consultation near the time of diagnosis in patients with metastatic NSCLC in this intervention is nearly an hour in length and largely addresses symptom management, patient and family coping, and illness understanding and education. Lower quality of life predicted longer consultations, with more time dedicated specifically to symptom management.