Journal of palliative medicine
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Methadone is a commonly used opioid in hospice and palliative care for patients with refractory pain. Various methadone dose conversion methods utilize progressively higher morphine equivalent dose (MED) to methadone dose ratios to compensate for increased methadone potency with escalating opioid doses. ⋯ No correlation was identified between high MED doses and methadone at dose stabilization after opioid rotation. A fixed maximum methadone dose of 30 mg/day produced clinically meaningful improvements in pain scores without adverse drug effects. Caution should be exercised before considering rotation to methadone doses higher than 30 mg/day in a patient receiving >1200 mg oral MED/day.
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Evidence shows that most people prefer to die at home; however, the majority of expected deaths occur away from home. Although home deaths require family caregiver (FCG) commitment and care, we understand very little about their experiences in this context. ⋯ FCGs' despair about not being able to keep their promise for a home death was related to complicated bereavement. Prospective studies of the experiences of FCGs who are aiming for home deaths are needed to identify both short- and long-term interventions to effectively support death at home.
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Symptom control for hospice patients frequently involves the use of pharmacologic agents for control of pain, dyspnea, and anxiety. Other troubling symptoms that will often require pharmacologic agents include nausea, vomiting, constipation, and delirium. While the Medicare requirement for hospice is a prognosis of six months or less, accurately predicting prognosis is very difficult. ⋯ The total estimated cost for all medications for the study period amounted to $14,980. The results of this study indicate that hospice patients have variable amounts of discarded medication at the time of death and that the cost involved of these unused medications can be significant. Hospice organizations should investigate creative ways to reduce the amount of discarded medications.
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The healthcare matrix is a novel assessment tool that facilitates systematic examination of patient cases using criteria established by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the Institute of Medicine. It is particularly useful for analyzing complex cases, although its use in the palliative care setting has not been documented. ⋯ The healthcare matrix helped us to dissect the physical, psychosocial, logistical, professional, and ethical aspects of care, and to highlight multiple opportunities for quality improvement. In addition to the case example we will be discussing the advantages and disadvantages for using the healthcare matrix and its potential utility in palliative care.
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of the Palliative Performance Scale (PPSv2) in the palliative care unit of our hospital, which sees more than 1500 referrals a year (both inpatient and outpatient). We evaluated 356 admission episodes into our department, focusing mainly on patients with advanced cancer. ⋯ We believe that the study results will aid health care professionals in assessing survival length of their patients more accurately, thus helping to guide decisions for treatment and care in a more judicious manner. It will also allow us to choose patients most likely to benefit from hospice resources.