The journal of supportive oncology
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Treatment for advanced lung cancer is not curative; therefore, the primary goals of its care are to maximize symptom management and minimize treatment toxicity. Increasingly, patient-reported symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQL) outcomes have been accepted as important endpoints; several validated measures have gained wide acceptance in research, but their use in practice has been limited. Computer technology increasingly is used to reduce patient and administrative burden in conducting assessments to produce a real-time presentation of symptom and HRQL data. ⋯ Of patients who reported discussing their responses with a provider (95%), a majority (69%) stated that the questionnaire helped them to focus on issues to be discussed with their physicians. The system also was favorably reviewed by physicians, who indicated that the report helped them to compare patients' responses over time. Next steps will include a randomized trial to test the system's efficacy in improving symptom management.
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Multicenter Study
Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in breast cancer patients: a prospective observational study.
Despite advances in the prevention and treatment of emesis, nausea and vomiting are still considered by patients to be among the most severe and feared adverse effects of chemotherapy for breast cancer. There is, however, a paucity of prospective data documenting the prevalence and severity of emesis in patients with breast cancer in the era of modern antiemetics. This prospective multicenter study evaluated chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients with breast cancer. ⋯ The prevalence of severe CINV for breast cancer was relatively low compared with the prevalence reported in the literature. As a result of the observational design of this study, the results may better reflect the "true" prevalence of nausea and vomiting than do estimates from previously reported randomized controlled trials. Several patient characteristics that predict which patients are at increased risk of developing severe symptoms were identified.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Fentanyl buccal tablet for relief of breakthrough pain in opioid-tolerant patients with cancer-related chronic pain.
Fentanyl buccal tablet (FBT) is a new opioid formulation providing rapid-onset analgesia for the treatment of breakthrough pain (BTP). This study evaluated FBT for BTP in opioid-tolerant patients with chronic cancer pain. The study had a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design and was conducted at 30 outpatient treatment centers in the United States. ⋯ Secondary measures also favored FBT: PIDs and PR showed significant differences versus placebo at 10 minutes (0.9 vs 0.5; 0.815 vs 0.606, respectively, P < 0.0001) and all subsequent time points (P < 0.0001). AEs were typical of opioids (eg, nausea, dizziness, fatigue). In conclusion, in this study of opioid-tolerant patients with chronic cancer pain and BTP, FBT was efficacious, well tolerated, demonstrated rapid onset of analgesia (within 10 minutes), and had a sustained effect.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Use of heparin-coated central venous lines to prevent catheter-related bloodstream infection.
Bloodstream infections related to the use of central venous catheters are an important cause of patient morbidity, mortality, and increased health care costs. Catheter-related infection may be due to fibrin deposition associated with catheters. Interventions designed to decrease fibrin deposition have the potential to reduce catheter-related infections. ⋯ Six and seven patients experienced severe bleeding in the heparin-coated and control groups, respectively (P = 1.00). We did not observe heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. The use of heparin-coated catheters can be a safe and effective approach to the prevention of catheter-related bloodstream infection in patients with hematooncologic disease.