Articles: palliative-care.
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BMC palliative care · Apr 2020
Meta AnalysisPalliative care utilization in oncology and hemato-oncology: a systematic review of cognitive barriers and facilitators from the perspective of healthcare professionals, adult patients, and their families.
Despite the high potential to improve the quality of life of patients and families, palliative care services face significant obstacles to their use. In countries with high-resource health systems, the nonfinancial and nonstructural obstacles to palliative care services are particularly prominent. These are the cognitive barriers -knowledge and communication barriers- to the use of palliative care. To date no systematic review has given the deserved attention to the cognitive barriers and facilitators to palliative care services utilization. This study aims to synthesize knowledge on cognitive barriers and facilitators to palliative care use in oncology and hemato-oncology from the experiences of health professionals, patients, and their families. ⋯ To optimize palliative care services utilization, awareness of palliative care, and healthcare professionals' communication and emotion management skills should be enhanced. Additionally, a cultural shift, concerning attitudes and beliefs towards palliative care, should be encouraged.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Apr 2020
Meta AnalysisImmediate Effect of Fan Therapy in Terminal Cancer With Dyspnea at Rest: A Meta-Analysis.
Dyspnea is a common distressing symptom in patients with malignant and nonmalignant diseases. Fan therapy, which uses a fan to blow air toward the patient's face, can alleviate dyspnea; however, its efficacy remains unclear. ⋯ This meta-analysis demonstrated that fan therapy may be an effective intervention for dyspnea at rest in patients with terminal cancer.
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Review Meta Analysis
The Effect of Advance Care Planning on Heart Failure: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Advance care planning is widely advocated to improve outcomes in end-of-life care for patients suffering from heart failure. But until now, there has been no systematic evaluation of the impact of advance care planning (ACP) on clinical outcomes. Our aim was to determine the effect of ACP in heart failure through a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). ⋯ ACP improved quality of life, patient satisfaction with end-of-life care and the quality of end-of-life communication for patients suffering from heart failure and could be most effective when the right timing, follow-up and involvement of important others was considered.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Mar 2020
Review Meta AnalysisExercise training for improving patient-reported outcomes in patients with advanced-stage cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Patients with advanced-stage cancer often suffer many physical and psychological symptoms. Exercise has been shown to improve quality of life (QoL), decrease cancer-related symptoms, and maintain or improve functional status in cancer survivors or patients with early stage cancer. However, the effect of exercise on these outcomes in patients with advanced-stage cancer is unclear. ⋯ Exercise serves as an effective intervention to improve QoL and alleviate fatigue, insomnia, dyspnea, and physical and social functions for patients with advanced-stage cancer.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Feb 2020
Meta AnalysisBenzodiazepines for treatment of patients with delirium excluding those who are cared for in an intensive care unit.
Delirium is a very common condition associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and costs. Current critical care guidelines recommend first and foremost the use of nonpharmacological strategies in both the prevention and treatment of delirium. Pharmacological interventions may augment these approaches and they are currently used widely in clinical practice to manage the symptoms of delirium. Benzodiazepines are currently used in clinical practice to treat behavioural disturbances associated with delirium but current guidelines do not recommend their use for this indication. The use of these medicines is controversial because there is uncertainty about whether they are effective for patients or have the potential to harm them. ⋯ There is no enough evidence to determine whether benzodiazepines are effective when used to treat patients with delirium who are cared for in non-ICU settings. The available evidence does not support their routine use for this indication. Because of the scarcity of data from randomised controlled trials, further research is required to determine whether or not there is a role for benzodiazepines in the treatment of delirium in non-ICU settings.