Articles: palliative-care.
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There is growing interest in, and need for, integrating palliative care (PC) into the care of patients undergoing emergency surgery and those with traumatic injury. Thus, PC consults for these populations will likely grow in the coming years. Understanding the nuances and unique characteristics of these two acutely ill populations will improve the care that PC clinicians can provide. Using a modified Delphi technique, this article offers 10 tips that experts in the field, based on their broad clinical experience, believe PC clinicians should know about the care of trauma and emergency surgery patients.
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Expert Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol · Jul 2021
Hospice care for end stage liver disease in the United States.
Patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) have impaired physical, psychological, and social functions, which can diminish patient quality of life, burden family caregivers, and increase health-care utilization. For those with a life expectancy of less than six months, these impairments and their downstream effects can be addressed effectively through high-quality hospice care, delivered by multidisciplinary teams and focused on the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual wellbeing of patients and caregivers, with a goal of improving quality of life. ⋯ Despite the potential for hospice to improve care for those at the end of life, it is underutilized for patients with ESLD. Increasing the appropriate utilization of hospice for ESLD requires a better understanding of patient eligibility, which can be based on predictors of high short-term mortality and liver transplant ineligibility. Such hospice criteria should be data-driven and should accommodate the uncertainty faced by patients and physicians.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2021
Palliative Care Specialist Access is Associated with Rankings of Hospital Quality.
Increasing evidence has shown that access to specialty palliative care, particularly outpatient palliative care clinics, can yield improved health outcomes and be a marker of hospital quality. ⋯ These findings reflect the association of access to specialty palliative care with USNWR rankings for hospital quality. Further study is necessary to determine the specific influence of access to palliative care and USNWR rank position.
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Background: Music is a powerful therapeutic intervention to promote physical and psychological health, healing, and well-being. In pediatric palliative care, music therapists are often involved in preloss care. Heartbeat recordings (HBRs) synchronize the rhythm of the heartbeat into a favorite song. ⋯ Conclusions: Parents of children with PNDI experience chronic sorrow. The HBR assisted in meaning-making that validated the child's life and supported the parents' expression of grief and their ability to cope. Further research is needed to validate the impact of HBRs in diverse populations.
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Decisions on medication treatment in children dying from cancer are often complex and may result in polypharmacy and increased medication burden. There is no information on medication burden in pediatric cancer patients at the end of life (EOL). ⋯ Polypharmacy is ubiquitous among pediatric oncology patients at EOL. Disease type and DNR status may affect medication burden and deprescribing during the last hospitalization.