Journal of palliative medicine
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Delirium is highly prevalent in those with serious or advanced medical illnesses. It is associated with many adverse consequences, including significant patient, family, and health care provider distress. This article suggests a novel approach to delirium assessment and management and provides useful, practical guidance for clinicians based on a complete review of the existing literature and the expert clinical opinion of the authors and their colleagues, derived from over a decade of collective bedside experience. ⋯ Pharmacological interventions that provide rapid, effective, and safe relief are presented. Employing both pharmacological and nonpharmacological interventions, including patient and family education, improves symptoms and relieves patient and family distress, whether the delirium is reversible or irreversible, hyperactive or hypoactive. All interventions can be provided in any setting of care, including patients' homes.
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Uncontrolled pain remains prevalent in patients with advanced cancer and has been associated with worse quality of life and greater health care utilization. Poor adherence to analgesics may represent a modifiable barrier to pain management. ⋯ Our results demonstrate the feasibility of integrating self-report assessments of LA opioid adherence into a thoracic oncology clinic. Patients reported high adherence, but more than one-quarter did not accurately report the prescribed frequency of daily doses. Understanding of LA opioid regimens may be a critical indicator of adherence in patients with advanced cancer.
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Case Reports
Treatment with gabapentin associated with resolution of apnea in two infants with neurologic impairment.
Infants with neurologic impairment (NI) as a result of injury to the central nervous system have a significant rate of pain. Problems associated with pain in children with NI include increased tone. This secondary hypertonia may contribute to apnea as a result of alterations in airway tone and chest wall movement. Infants are at greatest risk given their smaller airways, lower functional residual capacity, and the high rate of unrecognized pain at this age. ⋯ Infants with NI and apnea should have careful pain assessment and treatment, when considering other causes and interventions for apnea.
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Delirium in terminally ill cancer patients causes considerable distress to family members. The aim was to determine the family-perceived usefulness of a leaflet about delirium in terminally ill cancer patients. ⋯ The leaflet about delirium was evaluated as useful for family members. This leaflet could help family members cope with a difficult situation by facilitating accurate understanding of the situation and by helping family members understand what they could do for the patient. More comprehensive intervention programs should be developed and tested in the future.