Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2022
The Parental Experience of Caring for A Child with Pain and Irritability of Unknown Origin.
Approximately 73% of children with severe neurological impairment (SNI) can experience episodes of pain and irritability often of unknown origin (PIUO). Limited research exists on how these experiences of PIUO may affect parental caregivers and families. The primary objective of this study was to understand the parental caregiver experience of caring for a child with SNI who experiences persistent PIUO. ⋯ Parental caregivers described caring for a child with persistent PIUO as physically and emotionally exhausting, and negatively impacting family quality of life. Interviews highlighted avenues of future exploration for clinical care, including both enhanced management pathways for children and supportive resources for education and coping for parents.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2022
Development, Implementation, and Outcomes of a Serious Illness Care Community of Practice.
Communities of Practice (CoP) can help geographically separated individuals who share a joint enterprise, mutual engagement, and a repertoire of tools to gain, maintain, and implement new skills, including serious illness communication. ⋯ This article describes the implementation and health system outcomes of a Community of Practice developed to support serious illness communication. The results indicate that the membership of the community grew and that the community supported growth in the number of trained clinicians and the number of serious illness conversations conducted.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2022
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyAcupuncture for Quality of Life in Gastric Cancer Patients Undergoing Adjuvant Chemotherapy.
Patients with gastric cancer experience health-related quality of life (HRQOL) decline during adjuvant chemotherapy following gastrectomy. ⋯ EA showed promising effects in improving HRQOL, controlling symptom burden, and reducing toxicity during adjuvant chemotherapy in gastric cancer patients. Future adequately powered trials are feasible and needed to confirm the specific effect of EA.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Feb 2022
ReviewThe Impact of Optimism on Cancer-related and Postsurgical Cancer Pain: A Systematic Review.
The impact of psychological factors on pain levels continues to be of interest throughout a cancer patient's journey. The relationship between pain and optimism has been described previously in patients with various diseases. ⋯ Despite the differences in the pathophysiology of pain types investigated, and which stage of the patient's journey pain was experienced, all studies reported a negative association with the level of optimism and pain described by patients. Therefore, promoting and supporting psychological coping techniques, including optimism for cancer patients may decrease patients' suffering, increase their quality of life at different cancer stages, and reduce opioid use.