Articles: palliative-care.
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Multicenter Study
Exploring the extent of communication surrounding transitions to palliative care in heart failure: the perspectives of health care professionals.
The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of health care professionals (HCPs) on the transition of heart failure (HF) patients to a palliative care approach. ⋯ There is a need for both established prognostic guidelines and further education to develop the communication skills to facilitate end-of-life discussions with HF patients.
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To evaluate the effect of nonresponse bias on reports of the quality of end-of-life care that older adults receive. ⋯ Although nonresponse bias is a theoretical concern, it does not appear to have a significant effect on the facility-level results of this retrospective family survey.
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
[Experiences of cancer patients with breakthrough pain and pharmacological treatments].
of cancer patients receiving palliative care, 80% suffer from cancer pain, and again 80% of these patients report breakthrough pain. This study explores the patients' perception of breakthrough pain, their experiences with existing therapeutic regimens and their expectations regarding an ideal breakthrough pain medication. ⋯ the diagnosis and treatment of breakthrough pain seems to be conducted in a suboptimal manner, and standard recommendations on breakthrough pain relief are not implemented consistently. Possible causes of pain should be taken into account as well as multi-professional treatment interventions and alternative routes of administration of fast onset, effective drugs should be considered.
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Support Care Cancer · Nov 2010
Multicenter StudyClinical use of oral laxatives in palliative care services in Spain.
This study was aimed at evaluating the clinical use of laxatives in palliative care treatment, their overall effectiveness, and their relationship to opioid treatment. ⋯ The clinical practice of the use of oral laxatives in palliative care in our environment differs widely from that recommended in the literature. Further studies are required to confirm if a revision of clinical guidelines are required.
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Multicenter Study
Feasibility study of a systematic approach for discontinuation of multiple medications in older adults: addressing polypharmacy.
Polypharmacy and inappropriate medication use is a problem in elderly patients, who are more likely to experience adverse effects from multiple treatments and less likely to obtain the same therapeutic benefit as younger populations. The Good Palliative-Geriatric Practice algorithm for drug discontinuation has been shown to be effective in reducing polypharmacy and improving mortality and morbidity in nursing home inpatients. This study reports the feasibility of this approach in community-dwelling older patients. ⋯ It is feasible to decrease medication burden in community-dwelling elderly patients. This tool would be suitable for larger randomized controlled trials in different clinical settings.