Journal of pain and symptom management
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Previous studies have revealed inconsistent findings about the longitudinal evolution of cancer-related symptoms. In addition, the contribution of medical factors (e.g., cancer site, and treatments) in explaining the changes in these symptoms is yet to be established. ⋯ The severity of cancer-related symptoms varies during the cancer care trajectory, especially anxiety scores, which importantly decrease during the first few months after the surgery. This study also suggests that treatment regimens better account for individual differences than cancer site in the evolution of symptoms.
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Chronic pain remains prevalent in HIV+ adults despite widespread antiretroviral use. Pain continues to be underrecognized and undertreated in this population. In Thailand, similar to the West, HIV care is transitioning toward chronic disease management. Despite the importance of pain management in chronic HIV, the prevalence of pain and adequacy of pain management is unknown in HIV+ adults in Thailand. ⋯ Despite widespread antiretroviral use, pain remains common and undertreated in HIV+ adults in Thailand. Undertreated pain negatively impacts quality of life. It is imperative that policy makers and HIV caregivers address this treatment gap to advance the care of people living with HIV in Thailand.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2013
Episodic and continuous breathlessness: a new categorization of breathlessness.
Unlike pain, where the concept of breakthrough and background pain has been widely characterized and defined, breathlessness as a symptom has not yet been fully explored and has been rarely categorized. ⋯ Participants categorize their breathlessness by time and triggers. The categorization needs further verification, similar to that already established in pain, and can be used as a new evidence-based categorization to advance our understanding of this under-researched, yet high impact, symptom to optimize management.