Patient Prefer Adher
-
Patient Prefer Adher · Jan 2014
Lung vital capacity and oxygen saturation in adults with cerebral palsy.
Individuals with infantile cerebral palsy have multiple disabilities. The most conspicuous syndrome being investigated from many aspects is motor movement disorder with a spastic gait pattern. The lung function of adults with spasticity attracts less attention in the literature. This is surprising because decreased thoracic mobility and longstanding scoliosis should have an impact on lung function. With increasing age and the level of disability, individuals become susceptible to lung infections and reflux illness, and these are accompanied by increased aspiration risk. This study examined, with different methods, to what extent adults with congenital cerebral palsy and acquired spastic paresis - following traumatic brain injury - showed restriction of lung function. It also assessed the contribution of disability level on this restriction. ⋯ Despite the decreased chest expansion and the significantly reduced lung volume in adults with cerebral palsy, sufficient oxygen supply was registered.
-
Patient Prefer Adher · Jan 2014
Cancer-associated thrombosis, low-molecular-weight heparin, and the patient experience: a qualitative study.
Venous thromboembolism is a common complication of cancer and its treatments. Treatment of cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) differs from treatment of thrombosis in noncancer patients, requiring a daily injection of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) for 6 months instead of an oral anticoagulant. Previous research suggested LMWH is an acceptable intervention in the treatment of CAT, yet clinical practice and therapeutic opportunities have changed in the decade since the study was conducted. Furthermore, in the previous study there was acknowledged selection bias in participant recruitment. There is increasing clinical use of the novel oral anticoagulants, although their efficacy and safety is yet to be demonstrated within the cancer population. The experience of patients receiving anticoagulation for CAT will inform future practice with respect to quality of life and adherence to anticoagulation therapy. ⋯ Although LMWH remains an acceptable intervention for the treatment of CAT, its long-term use is associated with bruising and deterioration of injection sites. These are considered an acceptable trade-off against their strongly negative experiences of symptomatic venous thromboembolism.
-
Patient Prefer Adher · Jan 2014
Communication preferences in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome: descriptive results and patient characteristics as predictors.
Communication with patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is often considered difficult. The primary objective of this explorative study was to describe the communication preferences of FMS patients in comparison with other chronic diseases, and the secondary objective was to identify patient-related predictors of those communication preferences. ⋯ Health care providers who communicate with FMS patients should employ an open and patient-centered communication style, and affective communication components should be adapted to accommodate each patient.
-
Patient Prefer Adher · Jan 2014
Patient attitudes towards a new role for pharmacists: continued dispensing.
In Australia, "continued dispensing" (CD) is a new model for supply of prescription medications. Under specific circumstances, community pharmacists are allowed to dispense a further one month supply of prescription only medications without a valid prescription. It allows continuation and treatment adherence when patients run out of statin and/or oral contraceptive (OC) medications, when it is not practical or they fail to plan accordingly to get a new prescription. ⋯ Australian users of statin and OC medications showed a high level of support for CD. Given that a significant proportion of patients temporarily stopped treatment when they ran out of medications and had no valid prescription, implementation of CD may alleviate the negative consequences of therapy interruption in statin and OC users in the short term. Longer-term solutions and opportunities to expand CD require further exploration.
-
Patient Prefer Adher · Jan 2014
Patient perspectives on switching disease-modifying therapies in the NARCOMS registry.
The evolving landscape of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis raises important questions about why patients change DMTs. Physicians and patients could benefit from a better understanding of the reasons for switching therapy. ⋯ Participants frequently initiated the discussion regarding changing DMT, although physician recommendations regarding the specific therapy were still weighed highly. Long-term follow-up of these participants will provide valuable information on their disease trajectory, satisfaction with, and effectiveness of their new medication.