Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2014
Primary thromboprophylaxis in hospices: the association between risk of venous thromboembolism and development of symptoms.
Venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk assessment for adults admitted to hospital is commonplace, but the utility of assessment tools in patients admitted to hospices or palliative care units and prediction of symptomatic VTE is unknown. ⋯ Hospice inpatients are at risk for VTE. TER alone is simpler to use and may be more useful in this population than the THRIFT but still has limitations regarding ability to predict symptoms.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jul 2014
Clinical Trial Observational StudyEfficacy and safety of a six-hour continuous overlap method for converting intravenous to transdermal fentanyl in cancer pain.
Managing cancer pain often requires opioid medications, such as fentanyl, which is frequently initiated parenterally, and then converted to transdermal form. Little evidence exists to guide this conversion. ⋯ A continuous six-hour overlap method is a safe and effective strategy when converting from IVF to TF in patients with cancer pain. A slight increase in pain intensity may occur, but does not lead to increased rescue doses.