Articles: palliative-care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2024
Specialist Palliative Care Use and End-of-Life Care in Patients with Metastatic Cancer.
For patients with advanced cancer, high intensity treatment at the end of life is measured as a reflection of the quality of care. Use of specialist palliative care has been promoted to improve care quality, but whether its use is associated with decreased treatment intensity on a population-level is unknown. ⋯ On a population-level, use of specialist palliative care was associated with improved metrics for quality end-of-life care for patients dying with metastatic cancer, underscoring the importance of its integration into cancer care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2024
Parenteral hydration in dying patients with cancer - a national registry study.
Clinically assisted hydration during end-of-life care among patients with cancer is controversial; practice varies between clinical settings and countries, and there is a lack of evidence. ⋯ There is an association between parenteral hydration and increased breathlessness in patients with cancer. Provision of parenteral hydration is more prevalent in men, younger patients, and those with hematological malignancies or ovarian cancer, and most widespread in acute hospital settings.
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Burnout is frequently a workload-related syndrome among palliative care physicians. Mandatory administrative activities contribute to this workload. The purpose of this study was to measure the amount of time involved in multiple required administrative activities and the cost of this on academic healthcare facilities. ⋯ Academic palliative care physicians are required to complete a number of administrative activities. Institutions do not keep a registry of these activities and do not accommodate for them with a reduction in the annual clinical productivity requirements. We recommend that regulatory agencies and institutions work together to better regulate this list of tasks and their frequency.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2024
Palliative approach remains lacking in terminal hospital admissions for chronic disease across rural settings: multisite retrospective medical record audit.
Despite clear benefit from palliative care in end-stage chronic diseases, access is often limited, and rural access largely undescribed. This study sought to determine if a palliative approach is provided to people with chronic disease in their terminal hospital admission. ⋯ End-of-life planning and specialist palliative care involvement occurred infrequently for people with chronic disease who died in rural hospitals. Targeted strategies are necessary to improve care for these prevalent and high needs rural populations.