The American journal of hospice & palliative care
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Oct 2009
Validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the Caregiver Reaction Assessment Scale (CRA-J) for community-dwelling cancer patients.
The aim of this study was to validate the Caregiver Reaction Assessment (CRA) among caregivers of community-dwelling advanced cancer patients in Japan. ⋯ The CRA-J is valid and reliable. This scale is useful for caregivers of cancer patients in Japan.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Oct 2009
Application of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score to patients with cancer admitted to the intensive care unit.
The aim of the current study was to describe the utility of the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score in assessing the severity of organ dysfunction in patients with cancer before admission to the intensive care unit. This was a prospective cohort study performed from January to October 2007. The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score was recorded before admission to intensive care unit. ⋯ The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for score Sequential Organ Failure Assessment was 0.87. The mortality in the intensive care unit was 27.5%. The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score was predictive for survival in intensive care unit when applied before admission.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Oct 2009
ReviewReview article: a model of palliative care for heart failure.
The heart failure illness trajectory is both complex and unpredictable, which makes providing palliative care services to patients with heart failure a challenge. As a result, although services are needed, few tend to be offered beyond basic medical management. ⋯ This type of model, which is based on the ability to predict the course of a terminal disease, does not fit the heart failure trajectory. In this article, we propose a new model of palliative care that conceptualizes palliative care as a philosophy of care that encompasses the unpredictable nature of heart failure.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Oct 2009
ReviewResearch in pediatric palliative care: closing the gap between what is and is not known.
Pediatric palliative care provides physical and psychosocial care to children with life-limiting illnesses and their families. Services are provided by physicians, nurses, volunteers, and other providers in a myriad of settings. Over the past 30 years, a portfolio of research has amassed on palliative care. ⋯ This article is the first in a series and it provides a general overview of what is known and unknown about the provision and need for pediatric palliative care. Subsequent articles will focus on specific topics such as decision making and support care. The purpose of this series is to inform and promote discussion about research in pediatric palliative care.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Oct 2009
Nursing Home participation in end-of-life programs: United States, 2004.
The purpose of this report is to define the extent to which US nursing homes (NH) participate in end-of-life programs, using a nationally representative, cross-sectional sample of US NH. Data on EoL programs including Five Wishes, Last Acts, and Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) were collected. In 2004, 17.2% of NH reported participating in 1 or more of these programs, with the largest proportion participating in POLST (13.3%) and smaller proportions in Five Wishes (5.6%) and Last Acts (4.2%). ⋯ In 2004, fewer than 1 in 5 US NH participated in an EoL program. However, facilities that had EoL programs were more likely to have programs and staff training for services related to EoL care, a finding that suggests a clustering of these programs, services, and training. Provision of appropriate staff training may be a key to expanding EoL program participation in skilled nursing.