Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyAn open-label extension study to investigate the long-term safety and tolerability of THC/CBD oromucosal spray and oromucosal THC spray in patients with terminal cancer-related pain refractory to strong opioid analgesics.
Chronic pain in patients with advanced cancer poses a serious clinical challenge. The Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)/cannabidiol (CBD) oromucosal spray (U.S. Adopted Name, nabiximols; Sativex(®)) is a novel cannabinoid formulation currently undergoing investigation as an adjuvant therapy for this treatment group. ⋯ This study showed that the long-term use of THC/CBD spray was generally well tolerated, with no evidence of a loss of effect for the relief of cancer-related pain with long-term use. Furthermore, patients who kept using the study medication did not seek to increase their dose of this or other pain-relieving medication over time, suggesting that the adjuvant use of cannabinoids in cancer-related pain could provide useful benefit.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2013
Association between referral-to-death interval and location of death of patients referred to a hospital-based specialist palliative care service.
The time interval between palliative care referral and death may play a role in determining the last place of care and location of death of patients referred to palliative care teams. ⋯ Longer referral-to-death interval was associated with death outside the hospital for patients enrolled in a hospital-based service. The study highlights the importance of early referral in predicting the last place of care and location of death of palliative care patients.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyOnce-daily gastroretentive gabapentin for postherpetic neuralgia: integrated efficacy, time to onset of pain relief and safety analyses of data from two phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies.
Treatment options for postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), a complication of herpes zoster, are commonly unsatisfactory and associated with adverse events. ⋯ PHN pain reduction after G-GR treatment can be observed as early as the second day of dosing and continues for at least 10 weeks.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2013
Comparative StudyReliability and validity of a tool to measure the severity of dysphagia: the Food Intake LEVEL Scale.
Dysphagia is one of the most prevalent and distressing symptoms among palliative care patients, and a practical assessment tool is required. ⋯ The FILS seems to have fair reliability and validity as a practical tool for assessing the severity of dysphagia. Further study on the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of the FILS compared with the FOIS is needed.