Articles: palliative-care.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialCaffeine as an adjuvant therapy to opioids in cancer pain: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Opioid therapy often shows insufficient efficacy and substantial adverse events in patients with advanced cancer. ⋯ Caffeine infusion significantly reduced pain and drowsiness, but the reduction did not reach clinical significance in patients with advanced cancer undergoing opioid therapy. Further investigations are warranted.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Oct 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialHigh-flow oxygen and bilevel positive airway pressure for persistent dyspnea in patients with advanced cancer: a phase II randomized trial.
Dyspnea is one of the most distressing symptoms for cancer patients. The role of high-flow oxygen (HFO) and bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP) in the palliation of dyspnea has not been well characterized. ⋯ HFO and BiPAP alleviated dyspnea, improved physiologic parameters, and were safe. Our results justify larger randomized controlled trials to confirm these findings.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Clinical effectiveness of online training in palliative care of primary care physicians.
Primary care physicians (PCPs) have a major responsibility in the management of palliative patients. Online palliative care (PC) education has not been shown to have a clinical impact on patients that is equal or different to traditional training. ⋯ Participation in an online PC education program by PCPs improved patient scores for some symptoms and family anxiety on the POS and also showed improved global QOL. Significant differences were found in physicians' knowledge at short and long term.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Existential behavioural therapy for informal caregivers of palliative patients: a randomised controlled trial.
Existential behavioural therapy (EBT) was developed to support informal caregivers of palliative patients in the last stage of life and during bereavement as a manualised group psychotherapy comprising six sessions. We tested the effectiveness of EBT on mental stress and quality of life (QOL). ⋯ Existential behavioural therapy appears to exert beneficial effects on distress and QOL of informal caregivers of palliative patients. Further longitudinal evidence is needed to confirm these findings.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Reducing the psychological distress of family caregivers of home-based palliative care patients: short-term effects from a randomised controlled trial.
Palliative care is expected to incorporate comprehensive support for family caregivers given that many caregivers suffer psychological morbidity. However, systematically implemented evidence-based psychological support initiatives are lacking. ⋯ This research adds to accumulating body of evidence demonstrating that relatively short psycho-educational interventions can enable family caregivers to feel more prepared and competent in the role of supporting a dying relative. Further investigation is required to determine the longer term outcomes of such interventions.