Articles: palliative-care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2024
Distributed Opioids in Morphine Equivalent: A Global Measure of Availability for Palliative Care.
Estimates of serious health-related suffering (SHS) demonstrate immense unmet need for palliative care, predominately in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Because opioids are essential medicines in palliative care (PC), measuring their availability can be used to evaluate the capacity of health systems to meet need. ⋯ DOME and DOME%SHSNEED can be used to monitor health system progress to redress disparities and promote access to medically indicated opioid therapy in palliative care.
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Palliative medicine · Oct 2024
Multiple points of system failure underpin continuous subcutaneous infusion safety incidents in palliative care: A mixed methods analysis.
About 25% of palliative medication incidents involve continuous subcutaneous infusions. Complex structural and human factor issues make these risk-prone interventions. Detailed analysis of how this safety-critical care can be improved has not been undertaken. Understanding context, contributory factors and events leading to incidents is essential. ⋯ System infrastructure is needed to enable timely supply of medication and equipment, effective coordinated use of continuous subcutaneous infusions, communication and continuity of care. Training is needed to improve incident descriptions so these pinpoint precise targets for safer care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2024
Variation in Palliative Care Program Performance for Patients with Metastatic Cancer.
While specialist palliative care is associated with improved end-of-life quality metrics for patients with advanced cancer, its effectiveness may differ between hospitals. ⋯ We found variation in most end-of-life quality metrics for patients with metastatic cancer. Further work is needed to better understand why variations exist and whether such variations reflect a difference in quality of care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2024
Recommendations for psychosocial support for long-distance caregivers of terminally ill patients.
The provision of appropriate psychosocial support has a significant impact on quality of life for informal caregivers of terminally ill patients. Long-distance caregivers have specific wishes and needs for psychosocial support. ⋯ The consensus-based recommendations represent the first empirically grounded guidelines in Germany aimed at addressing the psychosocial needs of long-distance caregivers of terminally ill patients. The recommendations seek to raise awareness among both professional and voluntary workers regarding the specific support requirements of this understudied population.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2024
COMPLIMENTARY ROLE OF COMPREHENSIVE PALLIATIVE CARE TREATMENT TO INTRATHECAL THERAPY: CASE REPORT.
Intrathecal therapy with implanted devices is often reported in some recommendations.for the management of difficult cancer pain However, data is often biased by optimistic view and poor assessment. We report a case of patient in which a comprehensive and complex palliative care treatment was effective in managing a patient who was implanted a subcutaneous port for intrathecal analgesia This patient had many characteristics of a difficult pain, really defined as refractory due to various negative prognostic pain factors, such as neuropathic pain and psychological distress.. ⋯ Terms such as intractable or refractory pain, have been ambiguously used in literature to select patients as candidates for implated pumps. A meaningful evaluation and a comprehensive treatment should be mandatory when using intrathecal anlgesia in patients with very difficult pain conditions.