Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
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There is a lot of unrelieved pain in developing countries. Here is a story from Bali, Indonesia, about a woman with advanced malignancy, who is in unbelievable agony. Expensive chemotherapy is available to her. ⋯ The woman's pain affects the whole family, endangering the family's income and the future of her children. The intervention of palliative care during part of her life gives her some relief, only for the agony to be repeated by pointless chemotherapy and neglect of the suffering during admission to the hospital. Whatever relief could be given to her was because of the intervention of a volunteer with no schooling in medicine or palliative care.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2015
Case ReportsOpioid-Induced Hyperalgesia: A Diagnostic Dilemma.
Opioids are utilized frequently for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain in the perioperative setting, as well as in the treatment of cancer-related pain. When prescribing chronic opioid therapy to patients with chronic pain, it is crucial for the practitioner to be aware not only of the issues of tolerance and withdrawal, but also to have knowledge of the possibility for opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). ⋯ In this case, high-dose opioid therapy did not improve chronic pain and contributed to a hyperalgesic state in which a young man experienced severe intractable pain postoperatively after two routine thoracotomies, despite aggressive pharmacologic measures to manage his perioperative pain. Furthermore, it illustrates the potential advantages of opioid rotation to methadone when OIH is suspected.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2015
Medicare Care Choices Model Enables Concurrent Palliative and Curative Care.
On July 20, 2015, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced hospices that have been selected to participate in the Medicare Care Choices Model. Fewer than half of the Medicare beneficiaries use hospice care for which they are eligible. ⋯ This report describes how CMS has expanded the model from an originally anticipated 30 Medicare-certified hospices to over 140 Medicare-certified hospices and extended the duration of the model from 3 to 5 years. Medicare-certified hospice programs that will participate in the model are listed.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2015
ReviewOpioids for the Management of Dyspnea in Cancer Patients: Evidence of the Last 15 Years-A Systematic Review.
The objective of this study was to review the evidence on the use of opioids for treatment of the dyspnea in adult cancer patients. A systematic literature review was conducted in the databases MEDLINE, CINAHL (EBSCO), ScienceDirect, and Cochrane Library of trials testing the effect of opioids in relieving dyspnea in cancer patients. Fourteen trials met the criteria for inclusion in the review. ⋯ Morphine has been the most studied strong opioid showing efficacy in alleviating dyspnea when administered, either orally or subcutaneously, in cancer patients. The potential benefit of the strong opioids in the alleviation of dyspnea in cancer patients is modest and limited to some opioids. More studies are needed to sufficiently support the role of opioids in dyspnea at rest, at exertion, and for breakthrough dyspnea and to clarify the safety issues.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2015
A Pilot Chemical and Physical Stability Study of Extemporaneously Compounded Levetiracetam Intravenous Solution.
Levetiracetam is a commonly used antiepileptic medication for tumor-related epilepsy. However, the 100 mL intravenous (IV) infusion volume can be burdensome to imminently dying hospice patients. A reduced infusion volume would improve patient tolerability. ⋯ Over the 2-week storage period, there was no significant change in visual appearance or pH for any of the stability samples. The HPLC results confirmed that all stability samples retained 94.2-101.3% of initial drug concentration and no degradation products or leachable material from the packaging materials were observed. We conclude that levetiracetam 1000 mg/25 mL IV solution in sodium chloride 0.9% is physically and chemically stable for up to 14 days under refrigeration in polypropylene syringes, PVC bags, and polyolefin bags.