Articles: palliative-care.
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Despite the recent wide applicability of the bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt, there is limited reported experience in performing these shunts in infants 6 months or younger. ⋯ Early bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt in young infants has shown encouraging early results and provides improved oxygenation with low morbidity and mortality. We speculate that an early bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt on an elective basis may reduce the deleterious sequelae of chronic hypoxemia, long-term ventricular volume overload, and repeated palliative procedures, thus yielding a more suitable Fontan candidate.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 1993
Use of the Edmonton Injector for parenteral opioid management of cancer pain: a study of 100 consecutive patients.
In this retrospective study, we reviewed the patterns of use of the Edmonton Injector (EI) in 100 consecutive cancer patients. Seventy-eight patients used the EI for an average of 23 +/- 27 days. The main reasons for starting the EI were nausea (37 patients) and severe pain (31 patients). ⋯ The average cost of treatment was $1.65 Canadian per patient per day. No mechanical problems or refusals to start or continue treatment were detected. We conclude that the EI is a safe and simple device that allows for cost-effective parenteral administration of opioids for cancer pain.