Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2015
Massage, Music, and Art Therapy in Hospice: Results of a National Survey.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) provides clinical benefits to hospice patients, including decreased pain and improved quality of life. Yet little is known about the extent to which U.S. hospices employ CAM therapists. ⋯ Less than one-third of U.S. hospices employ art, massage, or music therapists despite the benefits these services may provide to patients and families. A higher proportion of large hospices, nonprofit hospices, and hospices in the Mountain/Pacific region employ CAM therapists, indicating differential access to these important services.
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A major step in end-of-life care was achieved in December 2005 when the Israeli parliament passed the "Dying Patient Law." The law (§31-§36) allows a competent person, even if he/she is healthy, to leave written instructions known as advance medical directives (AD), in which they explain their wishes in detail with respect to future medical treatment should it be determined that they are an incompetent terminally ill patient, as defined by the provisions of that law. ⋯ There is a need to increase awareness in the general population of the option to prepare ADs. Family physicians, oncologists, and geriatricians should be more involved in this process.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2015
Self- and Carer-Rated Pain in People With Dementia: Influences of Pain in Carers.
Although pain is frequent in people with dementia (PwD), evidence on the prevalence and factors influencing ratings of pain in dementia is limited. Carer variables are often associated with bias in proxy ratings of pain, but few studies have examined the role of caregiver pain in influencing these ratings. ⋯ Our results indicate that pain is very frequently reported in PwD and that the presence of pain is associated with high levels of anxiety. Caregiver pain affects carers' perceptions of pain in PwD.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2015
Trajectories of Symptom Occurrence and Severity From Before Through Five Months After Lung Cancer Surgery.
Limited information is available about lung cancer patients' symptoms in the pre- and postoperative periods. ⋯ Changes in the occurrence and severity of these seven symptoms were variable. All seven symptoms occurred at relatively high rates and were of moderate severity. Findings can be used to identify patients who are at higher risk for more severe symptoms.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Jun 2015
The Refusal of Palliative Radiation in Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Its Prognostic Implications.
Patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have limited survival. Population studies have evaluated the impact of radiation refusal in the curative setting; however, no data exist concerning the prognostic impact of radiation refusal in the palliative care setting. ⋯ Patients with metastatic NSCLC who refuse recommended palliative radiation have a poor survival. Radiation refusal or the recommendation against treatment can serve as a trigger for integrating palliative care services sooner and contributes greatly to prognostic awareness. Further investigation into this survival difference and the factors behind refusal are warranted.