Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2019
Patient-reported symptoms improve performance of risk prediction models for ED visits among patients with cancer: a population-wide study in Ontario using administrative data.
Prior work shows measurements of symptom severity using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) which are associated with emergency department (ED) visits in patients with cancer; however, it is not known if symptom severity improves the ability to predict ED visits. ⋯ This study demonstrates the importance of incorporating symptom measurements when developing an ED visit risk calculator for patients with cancer. Improved predictive models for ED visits using measurements of symptom severity may serve as an important clinical tool to prompt timely interventions by the cancer care team before an ED visit is necessary.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2019
Validation of the French Version of the Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS).
The Integrated Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS) is a widely used tool for assessing patient needs in palliative care. ⋯ IPOS-Fr has fair to good validity, especially with regard to interrater agreement and construct validity, is sensitive to positive change, and has good interpretability and acceptability for patients and staff. IPOS-Fr is not optimal in terms of internal consistency and structure when using subscale scores, except for the emotional subscale.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2019
Pilot study to improve goals of care conversations among hospitalists.
Many hospitalized patients receive care that is not concordant with their goals. Teaching communication skills that better align goals and treatment can improve the care that patients receive. ⋯ Teaching hospitalists to have GOC conversations translated into better skills and outcomes for patients. This pilot study shows promise and should be tested in a larger trial.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2019
Co-occurring Gastrointestinal Symptoms Are Associated with Taste Changes in Oncology Patients Receiving Chemotherapy.
Over 80% of patients with cancer report taste changes. Despite the high prevalence of this symptom and its negative effects on health, few studies have assessed its association with other gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. ⋯ This study provides new evidence on the frequency, severity, and distress of CFT in oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy. These findings suggest that CFT is an important problem that warrants ongoing assessments and nutritional interventions.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2019
Is in-hospital mortality higher in patients with metastatic lung cancer who received treatment in the last month of life? A retrospective cohort study.
Metastatic lung cancer is an incurable disease that results in a high burden of symptoms, a poor quality of life, and an expected prognosis of less than one year after diagnosis. Treatment shortly before death may result in potential burdensome and inappropriate hospital admissions and hospital deaths. Dying at home is, at a population level, considered a quality for good end-of-life care. ⋯ In The Netherlands, fewer than one in five patients with metastatic lung cancer died in the hospital and in-hospital death was associated with the relatively late use of chemotherapy or targeted therapy. Careful selection of patients for disease-modifying therapy might enhance the opportunity for patients to die at their preferred place.