Palliative medicine
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Palliative medicine · May 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialReducing time in acute hospitals: A stepped-wedge randomised control trial of a specialist palliative care intervention in residential care homes.
Care home residents are frequently transferred to hospital, rather than provided with appropriate and timely specialist care in the care home. ⋯ The model of care significantly reduces hospitalisations through provision of outreach by specialist palliative care clinicians. The data offer substantial evidence for Specialist Palliative Care Needs Rounds to reduce hospitalisations in older people approaching end of life, living in care homes.
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Palliative medicine · Mar 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialExamining key sociodemographic characteristics of adolescents and young adults with cancer: A post hoc analysis of the Promoting Resilience in Stress Management randomized clinical trial.
The "Promoting Resilience in Stress Management" intervention is a skills-based, early palliative care intervention with demonstrated efficacy in adolescents and young adults with cancer. ⋯ The "Promoting Resilience in Stress Management" intervention demonstrated a positive effect for the majority of outcomes regardless of sex, age, and race. It may not be as helpful for adolescents and young adults living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Future studies must confirm its generalizability and integrate opportunities for improvement by targeting individual needs.
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Palliative medicine · Jan 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialOnline training improves medical students' ability to recognise when a person is dying: The ORaClES randomised controlled trial.
Recognising dying is a key clinical skill for doctors, yet there is little training. ⋯ The online training resource proved effective in altering the decision-making of medical students to agree more with expert decision-making.
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Palliative medicine · May 2019
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyOral anticoagulation is preferable to injected, but only if it is safe and effective: An interview study of patient and carer experience of oral and injected anticoagulant therapy for cancer-associated thrombosis in the select-d trial.
Cancer patients have a four- to fivefold greater risk of thrombosis than the general population. Recommended treatment for cancer-associated thrombosis is 3-6 months of low-molecular-weight heparin. The 'select-d' trial is an open-label, randomised, multi-centre pilot trial in patients with cancer-associated thrombosis, utilising dalteparin (low-molecular-weight heparin) versus rivaroxaban (a direct oral anticoagulant), to assess effectiveness and safety. ⋯ Lack of awareness of thrombosis risk is concerning; cancer patients must be informed to enable prompt help-seeking. Tablets could provide a welcome choice for patients if there is equivalent risk-benefit to injected anticoagulants. Patients trust their clinicians to tailor their treatment. Future research could explore the effect of routine information giving about the risk of thrombosis.