Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2024
Predictive Biomarkers of Dyspnea Response to Dexamethasone and Placebo in Cancer Patients.
In the Alleviating Breathlessness in Cancer Patients with Dexamethasone (ABCD) trial, dexamethasone did not improve dyspnea more than placebo in unselected cancer patients. However, it is unclear if patients with greater inflammation would be more likely to derive a treatment response. ⋯ Cytokines decreased with dexamethasone, but not placebo. Higher baseline cytokine levels may identify patients likely to respond to dexamethasone and less likely to respond to placebo.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2024
Randomized Controlled TrialAssessing Advance Care Planning Fidelity within the Context of Cognitive Impairment: The SHARE Trial.
Advance care planning (ACP) is critical among primary care patients with cognitive impairment, but few interventions have tested ACP with this population. ⋯ Assessing the fidelity of ACP conversations involving primary care patients living with cognitive impairment and their care partners is feasible.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2024
Public Awareness of Palliative Care: A Nationally Representative Sample of Jordanian Adults.
Internationally, studies suggest that inadequate comprehension of the concept of palliative care and misconceptions about it hinder the effective use of palliative care, especially in developing nations. ⋯ The demand for palliative care in Jordan is increasing, requiring increased access, a holistic approach, open discussions, and easily accessible information. Challenges include integrating palliative care into non-malignant progressive diseases, ensuring comprehensive end-of-life care, promoting societal receptiveness towards mortality, enhancing information accessibility, and health promotion efforts. The study's results indicate the importance of implementing educational strategies and engaging families and communities in policymaking to change public knowledge and attitudes toward palliative care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Aug 2024
Multicenter StudyOutcomes of a Multi-Site Mentored Implementation Approach to Promoting Goals of Care Conversations.
The Preference-Aligned Communication and Treatment (PACT) Project is a multisite quality improvement effort that has been shown to increase the frequency of goals of care (GOC) conversations in hospitalized patients with serious illness. ⋯ A multisite mentored implementation quality improvement intervention for seriously ill hospitalized patients resulted in care aligned with goals and decreased resource utilization at the end of life.