Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer
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Support Care Cancer · Oct 2012
Psychometric properties of the German version of the Short-Form Supportive Care Needs Survey Questionnaire (SCNS-SF34-G).
The recommendation to screen for distress and supportive care needs among cancer patients focuses on improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of comprehensive cancer care. The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the German version of the Short-Form Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS-SF34-G). ⋯ The SCNS-SF34-G is an instrument with excellent psychometric properties for assessing supportive care needs among patients with various cancer entities. It seems to be useful to integrate the questionnaire into diagnostic assessment to tailor interventions according to patient needs. Further research is needed to gain knowledge of the development of unmet needs during the illness trajectory as well as of associations with offer and utilization of healthcare services.
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Support Care Cancer · Oct 2012
Interviews with patients with advanced cancer--another step towards an international cancer pain classification system.
Patients' involvement in the development of assessment tools is recommended, and the European Palliative Care Research Collaborative has adhered to this when developing a shared language for cancer pain, an international assessment and classification system. Study objectives were to investigate how patients ranked the relevance of several previously identified pain domains, to investigate patients' perception of the pain experience and to disclose additional, relevant pain domains for cancer pain classification to those identified in the literature. ⋯ Previously identified pain domains were confirmed to be relevant to the patients; however, the ranking differed from the experts' ranking. Sleep disturbances may be added as a domain in a future classification system.
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Support Care Cancer · Oct 2012
Unmet spiritual care needs impact emotional and spiritual well-being in advanced cancer patients.
Spiritual care is an important part of healthcare, especially when facing the crisis of advanced cancer. Do oncology inpatients receive spiritual care consistent with their needs? When inconsistent, are there deleterious effects on patient outcomes? ⋯ A substantial minority of patients did not receive the spiritual care they desired while hospitalized. When spiritual needs are not met, patients are at risk of depression and reduced sense of spiritual meaning and peace. Spiritual care should be matched to cancer patients' needs.
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Support Care Cancer · Oct 2012
Using aprepitant as secondary antiemetic prophylaxis for cancer patients with cisplatin-induced emesis.
Chemotherapy-induced emesis remains a problem despite prophylaxis with 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT3) antagonists and dexamethasone. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy of adding aprepitant, a neurokinin-1(NK-1) receptor antagonist, as a secondary antiemetic prophylaxis in cases failing to achieve full protection against emesis during the first cycle of a cisplatin-based regimen. ⋯ Primary antiemetic prophylaxis with 5-HT3 antagonists plus dexamethasone provided more than 80% complete protection against cisplatin-induced emesis. Addition of aprepitant as secondary antiemetic prophylaxis in subsequent cycles provided adequate emesis protection in patients who failed primary prophylaxis. Using aprepitant as secondary antiemetic prophylaxis for cancer patients with cisplatin-induced emesis is feasible and cost-effective.
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Support Care Cancer · Oct 2012
The management of procedural pain at the Italian Centers of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology: state-of-the-art and future directions.
The quality of life of children with cancer can be affected by the experience of cancer-related pain, treatment-related pain, procedural pain, generalized pain, and long-term chronic pain, and the consequences may be permanent. Treatment-related pain and procedural pain are often reportedly the most painful experiences relating to their illness. Procedural pain treatment is therefore now considered essential. This multicenter survey investigated how procedural pain is managed at Italian Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Centers. ⋯ A nationwide multicentre survey has been conducted for the first time to verify the management of procedural pain in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology patients. The results indicate that many aspects in the management of procedural pain appear consistent with the international guidelines. Some problems still remain, including the inability to ensure adequate sedation-analgesia in all the patients--often due to the lack of adequate staff, the frequent use of the operating room, and an underdeveloped use of non-pharmacological therapies.