Articles: palliative-care.
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Palliative care is the active total care of patients in advanced and incurable stages of cancer. More than 70% of all cancer patients in India require palliative care for relief of pain, other symptoms and psychosocial distress. The need for education and training in palliative care has been emphasized by the World Health Organization (WHO) during the past 15 years. This survey aimed to assess the awareness, clinical knowledge, and education and training aspects of palliative care among the clinical residents of a tertiary care hospital. ⋯ Clinicians in India need to be provided focused skills and training for them to be able deliver quality palliative care to the large number of patients with incurable cancer. The cost of palliative care and the optimum place to deliver it, the symptoms of advanced cancer, pain relief and symptom control methods and quality of life in end-stage cancer patients are some aspects that should be an integral part of clinical residency programmes.
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Palliative medicine · Mar 2001
Drugs and syringe drivers: a survey of adult specialist palliative care practice in the United Kingdom and Eire.
Subcutaneous delivery of drugs using a syringe driver is common practice within specialist palliative care units. There is, however, little documented information regarding clinical practice. A survey performed in 1992 reported that at least 28 drugs were used in combination with others in a single syringe driver. ⋯ The most common combinations were diamorphine and midazolam (37%), diamorphine and levomepromazine (35%), diamorphine and haloperidol (33%), and diamorphine and cyclizine (31%). In conclusion, there is much in common with regard to the way in which drugs are delivered in syringe drivers. However, a wide variety of drugs and drug combinations are still in use.