Journal of palliative medicine
-
Patients with end-stage liver disease (ESLD) have a life-limiting illness that causes multiple distressing symptoms and negatively affects quality of life (QOL). This population traditionally has not had much attention within the palliative care community. ⋯ Tremendous opportunity exists to integrate palliative medicine into the care of these patients.
-
Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have well-documented symptoms that affect quality of life. Professional societies recommend palliative care for such patients, but the optimal way of delivering this care is unknown. ⋯ The patients with COPD seen in the outpatient palliative medicine clinic had many comorbid conditions, severe illness, and significant symptom burden. Many physical and psychological symptoms were untreated prior to the palliative medicine appointment. Whether addressing these symptoms through a palliative medicine intervention affects outcomes in COPD is unknown but represents an important topic for future research.
-
Observational Study
Convenient measurement of systolic pressure: the reliability and validity of manual radial pulse pressure measurement.
It is important to assess a patient's medical condition noninvasively, particularly in hospice care settings. ⋯ Manually measuring the radial pulse pressure is reliable and can be used to indicate a systolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or more.