Journal of pain and symptom management
-
J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2010
Cancer-related symptom clusters, eosinophils, and survival in hepatobiliary cancer: an exploratory study.
The study of symptom clusters is gaining increased attention in the field of oncology in an attempt to improve the quality of life of patients diagnosed with cancer. ⋯ Cancer-related symptoms, particularly pain and depression, were associated with increased percentages of eosinophils. The presence of symptoms may reflect tumor cell death and be indicative of response to treatment, or other processes, in patients with HBC.
-
J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialDoes the use of a handheld fan improve chronic dyspnea? A randomized, controlled, crossover trial.
Dyspnea is a disabling distressing symptom that is common in advanced disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Current palliative strategies are partially effective in managing this symptom; facial cooling has been shown to reduce the sensation of breathlessness when induced in volunteers but has not been formally investigated in dyspnea associated with disease. ⋯ This study supports the hypothesis that a handheld fan directed to the face reduces the sensation of breathlessness. The fan was acceptable to participants: it is inexpensive, portable, enhances self-efficacy, and available internationally. It should be recommended as part of a palliative management strategy for reducing breathlessness associated with advanced disease.
-
J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyMorphine versus midazolam as upfront therapy to control dyspnea perception in cancer patients while its underlying cause is sought or treated.
Cancer patients with dyspnea may be able to have the symptom pharmacologically controlled while its underlying cause is sought or treated. ⋯ Our results suggest that cancer-related dyspnea in ambulatory patients can be pharmacologically treated while its most probable specific cause is sought and/or while an etiology-oriented intervention is implemented. In this setting, midazolam appeared to be a better option than morphine for the immediate and long-term relief of the symptom.
-
J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2010
Symptom cluster patterns during the first year after diagnosis with cancer.
Research about clusters of symptoms in oncology is an emerging field of study. However, there is still conceptual confusion about clusters of symptoms and little agreement across studies. ⋯ We propose attention to symptom clusters that are stable across time and include core or defining symptoms within the cluster, and we further discuss the usefulness and applicability of conceptual and methodological criteria used in this study for future symptom cluster research.