Journal of palliative medicine
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Observational Study
Nursing Home Residents With Dementia at End of Life: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Acute Hospital Deaths.
Background: Most nursing home (NH) residents do not benefit from health care at an emergency room (ER) or inpatient care at an emergency hospital during the end-of-life period. Therefore, a low number of unplanned admissions during the last month of life are considered good quality of care. Objectives: This study examined ER visits, hospital admissions, and place of death in NH residents with and without dementia in the last month of life, with the aim of answering the question, "Are NH residents with dementia provided with equal health care in their last stage of life?" Design: An observational retrospective study of registry data from all NH residents who died during the years 2015-2019, using health care consumption data from the Stockholm Regional Council, Sweden. ⋯ Conclusion: Dementia is associated with increased ER referrals and acute in-hospital care. Comorbidities and frailty were strongly associated with an increase in hospital deaths. In addition, men are sent to emergency hospitals more frequently than women, and older residents are sent to the hospital to a lesser extent than younger residents, which cannot be explained by the factors studied.
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As of 2019, there are 4.2 million Filipino Americans (FAs) and 1.9 million Korean Americans (KAs) in the United States, largely concentrated in New York, California, Texas, Illinois, and Washington. In both populations, similar to the broader U. ⋯ We fully celebrate that every person is an individual and care should be tailored to each person's goals, values, and preference. In addition, there are several cultural norms that, when appreciated and celebrated, may help clinicians to improve serious illness care and EOL discussions for members of these populations.
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Background: Despite widespread use of opioid therapy in outpatient palliative medicine, there is limited evidence supporting its efficacy and safety in the long term. Objectives: We sought to improve overdose risk scores, maintain pain reduction, and preserve patient function in a cohort with severe chronic pain as we managed opioid therapy for a duration of four years in an outpatient palliative care clinic. Design: Over four years, we provided ongoing goal-concordant outpatient palliative care, including opioid therapy, using quarterly clinical encounters for a patient cohort with chronic pain. ⋯ Results: In 97 patients, we observed a stable mean treatment-related reduction in pain intensity of 4.9 out of 10 points over four years. The cohort showed a 2-point (out of 100) improvement in performance scores and an 81-point (out of 999) reduction in mean overall overdose risk score. Conclusions: We present evidence that providing outpatient palliative care longitudinally over four years offered lasting treatment-related reductions in pain intensity, preservation of performance status, and reduction in overall overdose risk.
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Context: Measuring therapeutic connection during psilocybin-assisted therapy is essential to understand underlying mechanisms, inform training, and guide quality improvement. Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of directly observing indicators of therapeutic connection during psilocybin administration encounters. Methods: We evaluated audio and video data from a recent clinical trial for observable expressions of therapeutic connection as defined in proposed best-practice competencies (i.e., empathic abiding presence and interpersonal grounding). ⋯ Coders used a combination of audible and visual cues to identify therapeutic connection in 51% of observed events (190/372). Both the cues and qualities of therapeutic connection expressions varied over the course of psilocybin temporal effects on states of consciousness. Conclusion: Direct observation of therapeutic human connection is feasible, sensitive to changes in states of consciousness and requires evaluation of audible and visual data.
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All children experiencing child maltreatment/neglect require child abuse experts to offer the complex care needed, and for the child with potential life-limiting injuries, both child abuse and palliative care experts are integral to the team. The current literature describes the involvement of child abuse pediatrics after patients are already engaged with pediatric palliative care (PPC). ⋯ The mother retained full decision-making rights, and she wanted to protect her daughter from a life dependent on others and medical technology. Our team supported the mother in the face of multiple layers of loss-her daughter, her relationship with the perpetrator, her home, and the threat of job loss due to time away.