Articles: palliative-care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jan 1997
The Edmonton Functional Assessment Tool: preliminary development and evaluation for use in palliative care.
The purpose of this article is to report the development and psychometric testing of the Edmonton Functional Assessment Tool (EFAT). The EFAT was developed as a functional outcome measure for use with a palliative care population. The assessment identified ten functional activities important to patients even in the terminal stage of their illness. ⋯ Construct validity of the EFAT was tested with a sample of 101 patients admitted to the unit, which was later divided into the unit group (N = 88) and the home group (N = 13). Our findings provided initial evidence that the EFAT distinguished between the functional status of these two groups. The results of this preliminary study suggest that the EFAT requires further research and development, but shows potential to evolve as a useful clinical tool in palliative care.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 1997
Validity of the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire in the palliative care setting: a multi-centre Canadian study demonstrating the importance of the existential domain.
This study was carried out in eight palliative care services in four Canadian cities. A revised version of The McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQOL) is compared to a single-item scale measuring overall quality of life (SIS), and the self-administered version of the Spitzer Quality of Life Index (SA-QLI), to obtain evidence of validity. ⋯ The MQOL subscales, constructed on the basis of principal components analysis, demonstrate acceptable internal consistency reliability. The MQOL measures reflecting physical well-being and existential well-being are important for predicting SIS.
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Support Care Cancer · Jan 1997
Palliative iodized talc pleurodesis with instillation via tube thoracostomy.
Pleural effusions are a severe complication of advanced malignant disease. Palliative treatment strategies should be simple and effective. We investigated iodized talc pleurodesis through tube thoracostomy for this purpose. ⋯ The success rate after 3 months was 92.5%. In conclusion, iodized talc pleurodesis is an excellent tool in the palliative management of malignant pleural effusions. Administration via chest tube is sufficient for treatment success.
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Fifty-three UK and 59 USA people with multiple sclerosis (MS) answered anonymously the first questionnaire on cannabis use and MS. From 97 to 30% of the subjects reported cannabis improved (in descending rank order): spasticity, chronic pain of extremities, acute paroxysmal phenomenon, tremor, emotional dysfunction, anorexia/weight loss, fatigue states, double vision, sexual dysfunction, bowel and bladder dysfunctions, vision dimness, dysfunctions of walking and balance, and memory loss. The MS subjects surveyed have specific therapeutic reasons for smoking cannabis. The survey findings will aid in the design of a clinical trial of cannabis or cannabinoid administration to MS patients or to other patients with similar signs or symptoms.
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This retrospective chart review presents the patient characteristics and utilization of the home-based palliative care program at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. A total of 126 children dying from a broad spectrum of diseases was admitted during the period 1986-1994, referred from neurosurgery, genetic/metabolic, neurology, neonatology, nephrology, cardiology, general pediatrics, general surgery, and pulmonology. At the time of review, 15 patients remained alive and 18 had been discharged from the program. ⋯ Of the 93 patients who died in the program, 53% died at home, 18% died in community hospitals, and 29% died in a tertiary care facility. Analgesic medications were administered to 54% of the patients; 56% of these then required opioid analgesia for pain and symptom management. Home-based palliative care appeared to be an effective program for many children with a variety of terminal illnesses after adequate supports for the child and family had been established.