Quality of end-of-life care of home-based care with or without palliative services for patients with advanced illnesses

Palliative care has improved quality of end-of-life (EOL) care for patients with cancer, and these benefits may be extended to patients with other serious illnesses. EOL care quality for patients with home-based care is a critical problem for health care providers. We compare EOL quality care between patients with advanced illnesses receiving home-based care with and without palliative services.The medical records of deceased patients who received home-based care at a community teaching hospital in south Taiwan from January to December 2019 were collected retrospectively. We analyzed EOL care quality indicators during the last month of life.A total of 164 patients were included for analysis. Fifty-two (31.7%) received palliative services (HP group), and 112 (68.3%) did not receive palliative services (non-HP group). Regarding the quality indicators of EOL care, we discovered that a lower percentage of the HP group died in a hospital than did that of the non-HP group (34.6% vs 62.5%, P = .001) through univariate analysis. We found that the HP group had lower scores on the aggressiveness of EOL care than did the non-HP group (0.5 ± 0.9 vs 1.0 ± 1.0, P<.001). Furthermore, palliative services were a significant and negative factor of dying in a hospital after adjustment (OR = 0.13, 95%CI = 0.05–0.36, P < .001).For patients with advanced illnesses receiving home-based care, palliative services are associated with lower scores on the aggressiveness of EOL care and a reduced probability of dying in a hospital.     

Deltoid Branch of Thoracoacromial Vein: A Safe Alternative Entry Vessel for Intravenous Port Implantation

An entry vessel is crucial for intravenous port implantation. A safe alternative entry vessel that can be easily explored is crucial for patients without feasible cephalic vein or for those who need port reimplantation because of disease relapse. In this study, we tried to analyze the safety and feasibility of catheter implantation via the deltoid branch of the thoracoacromial vein.From March 2012 to November 2013, 802 consecutive oncology patients who had received intravenous port implantation via the superior vena cava were enrolled in this study. The functional results and complications of different entry vessels were compared.The majority of patients (93.6%) could be identified as thoracoacromial vessel. The deltoid branch of the thoracoacromial vein is located on the medial aspect of the deltopectoral groove beneath the pectoralis major muscle (85.8%) and in the deep part of the deltopectoral groove (14.2%). Due to the various calibers employed and tortuous routes followed, we utilized 3 different methods for catheter implantation, including vessel cutdown (47.4%), wire assisted (17.9%), and modified puncture method (34.6%). The functional results and complication rate were similar to other entry vessels.The deltoid branch of the thoracoacromial vein is located in the neighborhood of the cephalic vein. The functional results of intravenous port implantation via the deltoid branch of the thoracoacromial vein are similar to other entry vessels. It is a safe alternative entry vessel for intravenous port implantation.     

Pneumoconiosis Increases the Risk of Peripheral Arterial Disease: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

This nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study was used to evaluate the association between pneumoconiosis and peripheral arterial disease (PAD).We identified 3374 patients with pneumoconiosis from the catastrophic illness registry who were newly diagnosed from 2000 to 2005; 13,496 patients without pneumoconiosis from Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 (LHID2000) were randomly frequency matched according to sex, age, and index year and used as a nonpneumoconiosis group. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of PAD in the pneumoconiosis group compared with the nonpneumoconiosis group.The mean follow-up years were 7.44 years in the pneumoconiosis group and 8.17 years in the nonpneumoconiosis group. The incidence density rate of PAD was 1.25 times greater in the pneumoconiosis group than in the nonpneumoconiosis group (8.37 vs 6.70 per 1000 person-years). After adjusting for sex, age, and comorbidities, the adjusted HRs of PAD for the pneumoconiosis group were 1.30 (95% CI = 1.08–1.57), compared with the nonpneumoconiosis group. The combined impacts of patients with pneumoconiosis and diabetes, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma showed a significant by joint association with PAD risk compared with patients with no pneumoconiosis and no counterpart comorbidity.Patients with pneumoconiosis have an independently higher risk of developing PAD. Physicians should include pneumoconiosis in evaluating PAD risk.     

Lymphedema‐associated neutrophilic dermatosis: Two cases of localized Sweet syndrome on the lymphedematous lower limbs

Neutrophilic dermatosis on the site of lymphedema is a rare condition and considered as a localized and less severe variant of Sweet syndrome. Only 13 cases of this variant have been reported after mastectomy for breast cancer in the English‐language published work. However, this condition has never been described on the lower limbs or from other causes of lymphedema. Herein, we report two cases of localized Sweet syndrome on the lymphedematous lower limbs: one occurred after radical hysterectomy, bilateral pelvic lymph node dissection and radiotherapy for cervical cancer; the other developed after radiotherapy for malignant melanoma on the right groin. Based on clinical and histological features, we suggest the name “lymphedema‐associated neutrophilic dermatosis” for this underrecognized disease entity.