Nursing experience in palliative care at the outpatient clinic

Seven of the 17 patients reported that they were satisfied with the palliative care at our outpatient clinic. A patient's will to stay home, a devoted key person to the patient, procedures such as good pain control and an oral intake were considered to be important factors in palliative care at the outpatient clinic. We should understand that the patient's family attending the outpatient clinic is a part of their important daily life, so we try to make them feel comfortable whenever they come to see us. We should also strive for building more experience in palliative care for patients and their families. Based on our experience, we anticipate that outpatient care will be increased in the future. In the meantime, advanced nursing skills and techniques are needed.     

International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care list of essential medicines for palliative care.

background The World Health Organization (WHO) Cancer Control Program requestedthe support from the International Association for Hospice andPalliative Care (IAHPC) to develop a list of essential medicinesfor palliative care. The current WHO Model List of EssentialMedicines has a section called Palliative Care, which does notlist any medications, but the following statement:

Section 8.4—Medicinesused in palliative care The WHO Expert Committee on the Selectionand Use of Essential Medicines recommended that all the drugsmentioned in the WHO publication Cancer Pain Relief: with aGuide to Opioid Availability, second edition, be consideredessential. The drugs are included in the relevant sections ofthe Model List, according to their therapeutic use, e.g. analgesics.

The request from WHO was to prepare a list based on the recommendationfrom palliative care experts, taking in consideration two criteria:efficacy and safety. The WHO will be     

A new quality assurance package for hospital palliative care teams: the Trent Hospice Audit Group model

Cancer patients in hospitals are increasingly cared for jointly by palliative care teams, as well as oncologists and surgeons. There has been a considerable growth in the number and range of hospital palliative care teams (HPCTs) in the United Kingdom. HPCTs can include specialist doctors and nurses, social workers, chaplains, allied health professionals and pharmacists. Some teams work closely with existing cancer multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) while others are less well integrated. Quality assurance and clinical governance requirements have an impact on the monitoring of such teams, but so far there is no standardised way of measuring the amount and quality of HPCTs' workload. Trent Hospice Audit Group (THAG) is a multiprofessional research group, which has been developing standards and audit tools for palliative care since the 1990s. These follow a format of structure-process-outcome for standards and measures. We describe a collaborative programme of work with HPCTs that has led to a new set of standards and audit tools. Nine HPCTs participated in three rounds of consultation, piloting and modification of standard statements and tools. The final pack of HPCT quality assurance tools covers: policies and documentation; medical notes review; questionnaires for ward-based staff. The tools measure the HPCT workload and casemix; the views of ward-based staff on the supportive role of the HPCT and the effectiveness of HPCT education programmes, particularly in changing practice. The THAG HPCT quality assurance pack is now available for use in cancer peer review.     

Effectiveness of a palliative care outpatient programme in improving cancer-related symptoms among ambulatory Brazilian patients

The focuses of palliative care are to provide symptom relief and improve quality of life through an interdisciplinary approach. Previous studies conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of palliative care in reducing symptom distress among outpatients confirmed the importance of the palliative care approach. To our knowledge, there is no published information from Brazil regarding the impact of a palliative care outpatient programme in reducing symptom distress. Symptom scores from 232 patients were measured using Edmonton Symptom Assessment System scales in two consecutive consults. Changes in symptoms at follow-up visit were analysed using Wilcoxon signed-rank paired test. The symptom subtraction indices (SSI) (follow-up scores minus baseline scores) were calculated and then analysed with Spearman's correlation. Edmonton Symptom Assessment System median scores at follow-up visits were statistically significant reduced in all symptoms evaluated. All the SSI positively correlated with well-being-SSI. Other important SSI correlations were: fatigue-SSI and anxiety-SSI, and fatigue-SSI and dyspnoea-SSI. Our palliative care outpatient programme was able to provide a significant improvement in the symptoms evaluated. The well-being-SSI was positively correlated with all the SSI, verifying that the control of symptoms in palliative care is essential for the patient well-being. Adequate/inadequate control of specifically symptoms seems to indirectly improve/worsen other symptoms.     

Introduction to palliative care for the oncologist-history and basic principles of palliative care

The basic principle of palliative care has evolved over time and is the historical origin of the modern hospice. WHO proposed the first definition of palliative care in 1989, and the definition was revised in 2002. These definitions have something in common. Both relieve the pain and suffering to improve QOL. Palliative care is also good for any kind of life-threatening disease, regardless of whether it requires short or long term recuperation. That also need to be able to accept equally all the people of the community. The provision of general palliative care is the responsibility of all medical, nursing, and health professionals for the welfare of all patients with life-threatening disease. Specialist palliative care is based on the basic principles of palliative care, intensive clinical training, and systematic acquisition of knowledge and skills training to support palliative care education, clinical research and training provided by the profession. It has been established by nursing and medical experts in palliative care that palliative care can provide expertise in interdisciplinary teams in different settings. It is necessary that the medical system.     

老年晚期癌症患者的临终关怀

临终关怀与老年人关系密切,老年癌症患者是临终关怀的主要对象,这也是姑息医学的主要内容。作为一门新兴学科,本文对临终关怀的概念、目的及其在老年晚期癌症患者中的实施作一综述。     

老年晚期癌症患者的临终关怀

临终关怀与老年人关系密切,老年癌症患者是临终关怀的主要对象,这也是姑息医学的主要内容.作为一门新兴学科,本文对临终关怀的概念、目的及其在老年晚期癌症患者中的实施作一综述.     

Integrating palliative care in the intensive care unit

The admission of cancer patients into intensive care units (ICUs) is on the rise. These patients are at high risk for physical and psychosocial suffering. Patients and their families often face difficult end-of-life decisions that highlight the importance of effective and empathetic communication. Palliative care teams are uniquely equipped to help care for cancer patients who are admitted to ICUs. When utilized in the ICU, palliative care has the potential to improve a patient's symptoms, enhance the communication between care teams and families, and improve family-centered decision making. Within the context of this article, we will discuss how palliative care can be integrated into the care of ICU patients and how to enhance family-centered communication; we will also highlight the care of ICU patients at the end of life.     

Delirium in palliative care

Delirium is highly prevalent in cancer patients with advanced disease. Frequently a preterminal event, the condition is a sign of significant physiologic disturbance, typically involving multiple medical etiologies including infection, organ failure, adverse medication effects, and in rare situations, paraneoplastic syndromes. Unfortunately, delirium is frequently unrecognized or misdiagnosed and, therefore, inappropriately treated or untreated in terminally ill patients. The clinical features of delirium are numerous and encompass a variety of neuropsychiatric symptoms common to other psychiatric disorders. Three clinical subtypes of delirium, based on arousal disturbance and psychomotor behavior, have been described: hyperactive, hypoactive, and mixed. The differential diagnosis for delirium includes depression, mania, psychosis, and dementia. Numerous instruments have been developed to aid the clinician in rapidly screening for the disorder. Standard management requires an investigation of the etiologies, correction of the contributing factors, and management of symptoms. Symptomatic and supportive therapies, including numerous pharmacologic approaches, are important, but several aspects of the use of neuroleptics and other agents in the management of delirium in the dying patient remain controversial.     

Emergencies in palliative care

Palliative care emergencies are emergencies in patients with an incurable disease that may lead to death or decreased quality of life. During the palliative care phase of a patient's life, they differ from other medical emergencies and are mainly focusing on symptom control, whereas disease-oriented treatments are less important. Palliative care emergencies can occur on the physical, emotional, and existential field. They involve not only the patient but also the family and sometimes the health care professional. Palliative care emergencies that are addressed are pain, acute dyspnea, major bleeding, acute function loss, acute anxiety, delirium, epileptic seizures, acute decompensation with aggressive behavior of the nonprofessional caregiver, and planning for predictable emergencies.     

Pediatric palliative care in the community

Answer questions and earn CME/CNE Early integration of pediatric palliative care (PPC) for children with life‐threatening conditions and their families enhances the provision of holistic care, addressing psychological, social, spiritual, and physical concerns, without precluding treatment with the goal of cure. PPC involvement ideally extends throughout the illness trajectory to improve continuity of care for patients and families. Although current PPC models focus primarily on the hospital setting, community‐based PPC (CBPPC) programs are increasingly integral to the coordination, continuity, and provision of quality care. In this review, the authors examine the purpose, design, and infrastructure of CBPPC in the United States, highlighting eligibility criteria, optimal referral models to enhance early involvement, and fundamental tenets of CBPPC. This article also appraises the role of CBPPC in promoting family‐centered care. This model strives to enhance shared decision making, facilitate seamless handoffs of care, maintain desired locations of care, and ease the end of life for children who die at home. The effect of legislation on the advent and evolution of CBPPC also is discussed, as is an assessment of the current status of state‐specific CBPPC programs and barriers to implementation of CBPPC. Finally, strategies and resources for designing, implementing, and maintaining quality standards in CBPPC programs are reviewed. CA Cancer J Clin 2015;65:315–333. © 2015 American Cancer Society.     

Pediatric palliative care

Pediatric medicine is moving toward a greater appreciation that the delivery of quality medical care involves a partnership including the health care team, the child, and the family. Pediatric medicine now emphasizes the importance of information exchange among these groups. This paper discusses two models for communicating with children and their families throughout a complex life-threatening illness. Both models serve as a framework for integrating the medical and nonmedical aspects of the illness experience.     

晚期癌症患者的临终关怀及护理

目的探讨晚期癌症患者的临终关怀与护理。方法回顾性分析2011年1月至2013年6月收治的50例晚期癌症患者的临床资料。结果患者经护理后,其生活质量良好率和较好率均明显高于护理前,食欲、精神、睡眠、疼痛、对癌症的认识和态度、对治疗的态度和配合、心理感受、活动无兴趣、日常生活情况等评分较护理前明显升高,自卑感评分明显下降,差异均有统计学意义(均P<0.01)。结论晚期癌症患者的临终关怀与护理能够将患者生理和心理上的痛苦最大限度地减轻或消除,促进患者生活质量的显著提升,值得临床推广。     

Generic palliative care

There has recently been a move towards generic palliative care with the extension of the aims, as specified by the WHO (1) to patients with non-malignant diagnoses. Trinity Hospice, London, UK, changed their admissions policy to include any patient with a specialist palliative care need from January 1 1995. The contents of this brief report were first presented as a poster at the EAPC Conference, Barcelona, December 1995.     

Surgical palliative care

Surgery has always played a pivotal role in care of the patient with cancer, independent of treatment intent. Recent advances have expanded that role, not only in terms of modalities available, but more broadly in terms of the expectations of the surgeon as physician involved in the interdisciplinary care of the patient with symptomatic, incurable disease.