Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Mar 2014
Multicenter Study Observational StudyAssessment of reasons for referral and activities of hospital palliative care teams using a standard format: a multicenter 1000 case description.
The many benefits of hospital palliative care teams (PCTs) are well known. However, their specific activities have not been fully clarified, and no standardized methods for reporting PCT activities are available. ⋯ The components of hospital PCT activities were successfully measured using the Standard Format for Reporting Hospital PCT Activity. The results of this study and the format for reporting hospital PCT activity could be effective in improving hospital PCT practice and for the education of new hospital PCT members.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Mar 2014
A longitudinal analysis of symptom clusters in cancer patients and their sociodemographic predictors.
Exploring the relationships between concurrent symptoms or "symptom clusters" (SCs) longitudinally may complement the knowledge gained from the traditional approach of examining individual symptoms or SCs crosssectionally. ⋯ The presence of SCs across the first year of diagnosis supports the need for routine and ongoing screening for the range of symptoms that may be experienced by patients. Further work is needed to develop interventions that better target individual symptoms that cluster, as well as the entire cluster itself.