Journal of palliative medicine
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Web-based applications are available for prognostication of individual patients. These prognostic models were developed for groups of patients. No one is the average patient, and using these calculators to inform individual patients could provide misleading results. ⋯ Instead of reporting average risk scores, web-based calculators may improve accuracy of predictions by reporting the unconfounded risks.
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Lymphedema frequently develops as a long-term effect from cancer and/or its treatment, including head and neck cancer (HNC). There is a substantial lack of understanding regarding the symptoms and experiences related to head and neck lymphedema. ⋯ Clinicians need to inquire about tissue swelling and associated symptoms early in the post-treatment period to initiate lymphedema management strategies in a timely manner and facilitate reduction of long-term symptom burden and functional deficits.
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The aim of this work was to analyze routine assessments recorded, when a patient was documented as likely to die in hours to days, to determine the prevalence, intensity, and associations of physical symptoms. ⋯ The terminal phase is perceived as a time where the majority will experience distressing symptoms, but this work suggests a contrary view. However, there did seem to be a detrimental effect depending on place of care with more significant problems recorded when people were dying at home. More work is needed to clarify this given the current push for more home deaths.