Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2012
Randomized Controlled TrialAn exploratory survey of end-of-life attitudes, beliefs, and experiences of adolescents with HIV/AIDS and their families.
For youths with life-limiting conditions, little is known regarding families' understanding of their adolescent's wishes for end-of-life (EOL) care. ⋯ Although important areas of congruence emerged, equally important areas, such as the timing of these conversations and adolescents' EOL needs and wishes, are not known by their families. Families need help initiating conversations to assure that their adolescents' EOL wishes are known to them.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2012
Burden and well-being among a diverse sample of cancer, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease caregivers.
Three important causes of death in the U.S. (cancer, congestive heart failure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) are preceded by long periods of declining health; often, family members provide most care for individuals who are living with serious illnesses and are at risk for impaired well-being. ⋯ Caregiver resources, not patient diagnosis or illness severity, are the primary correlates associated with caregiver burden. Additionally, caregiver burden is not disease specific to those examined here, but it is rather a relatively universal experience that may be buffered by social resources and successful coping styles.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2012
Reporting of funding sources and conflict of interest in the supportive and palliative oncology literature.
The reporting of funding support and conflict of interest has not been examined in the supportive/palliative oncology literature. ⋯ A majority of supportive/palliative oncology studies did not report funding sources and conflict of interest, raising the need for standardization.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2012
Concordance between patient reports of cancer-related symptoms and medical records documentation.
Two sources of symptom data, patient report and medical records documentation, have been used in studies focusing on chronic conditions. The concordance of patient-reported cancer-related symptoms and clinician reports as documented in the medical records needs to be evaluated. ⋯ Medical records may not provide adequate documentation of symptoms, and collection of patient-reported symptom data from women with advanced breast cancer is critical to quality clinical management.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Sep 2012
Lack of muscle contractile property changes at the time of perceived physical exhaustion suggests central mechanisms contributing to early motor task failure in patients with cancer-related fatigue.
Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms reported by cancer survivors, and fatigue worsens when patients are engaged in muscle exertion, which results in early motor task failure. Central fatigue plays a significant role, more than muscle (peripheral) fatigue, in contributing to early task failure in cancer-related fatigue (CRF). ⋯ CRF patients perceive physical exhaustion sooner during a motor fatigue task with minimal muscular fatigue. The observation supports that central fatigue is a more significant factor than peripheral fatigue in causing fatigue feelings and limits motor function in cancer survivors with fatigue symptoms.