Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Jennifer H. Kang, Meghan Price, Tara Dalton, Luis Ramirez, Peter E. Fecci, Arif H. Kamal, Margaret O. Johnson, Katherine B. Peters, Courtney R. Goodwin
Summary: The study compared outcomes of brain metastases patients in intensive care unit who received inpatient Palliative care consultation with those who did not. Palliative care played a significant role in symptom management and complex medical decision making for critically ill patients.
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Biology
Gabriella Frisk, Maria Helde Frankling, Anna Warnqvist, Linda Bjorkhem-Bergman, Mattias Hedman
Summary: This study evaluates the healthcare levels and survival of lung cancer patients receiving whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in Stockholm. The results show that patients have a short median survival, and a portion of them are unable to return home. There is a higher proportion of women who cannot come home.
Article
Oncology
Morten Thronaes, Erik Torbjorn Lohre, Anne Kvikstad, Elisabeth Brenne, Robin Norvaag, Kathrine Otelie Aalberg, Martine Kjolberg Moen, Gunnhild Jakobsen, Pal Klepstad, Arne Solberg, Tora Skeidsvoll Solheim
Summary: The study investigated the use of interventions and symptom relief for adult patients with incurable cancer admitted to an acute palliative care unit providing integrated oncology and palliative care services. Results showed that symptom improvements were similar for both oncological and palliative care patients during hospitalization.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2021)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Adela Wu, Gabriela Ruiz Colon, Michael Lim
Summary: Brain metastases have a significant impact on the quality of life of patients, necessitating early implementation of palliative care. However, the incorporation and implementation of palliative and other supportive services in a true multidisciplinary care setting requires further attention and research. This review discusses the challenges faced by patients with brain metastases and their caregivers, as well as the current research on quality of life metrics and the role of specialty palliative care, rehabilitation services, and other healthcare providers in a comprehensive multidisciplinary care model.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Johan A. F. Koekkoek, Pim B. van der Meer, Andrea Pace, Caroline Hertler, Rebecca Harrison, Heather E. Leeper, Deborah A. Forst, Rakesh Jalali, Kathy Oliver, Jennifer Philip, Martin J. B. Taphoorn, Linda Dirven, Tobias Walbert
Summary: This systematic review provides updated insights on palliative care for adults with malignant brain tumors based on the 2017 EANO guidelines. It highlights the importance of early interventions in defining care goals and reducing symptom burden.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
David W. Kissane, Jane Appleton, Jonathon Lennon, Natasha Michael, Richard Chye, Tania King, Leeroy William, Peter Poon, Suharsha Kanathigoda, Katarina Needham, Irene Bobevski
Summary: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of psycho-existential symptoms among palliative care patients in Australia and recognize and respond to this need by implementing the Psycho-existential Symptom Assessment Scale (PeSAS) as a screening tool.
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Barbara A. Daveson, Samuel Frederic Allingham, Sabina Clapham, Claire E. Johnson, David C. Currow, Patsy Yates, Kathy Eagar
Summary: This study evaluated the validity and reliability of the Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration Symptom Assessment Scale used in a national outcomes program, demonstrating its effectiveness in detecting distress, internal consistency, and construct validity. Therefore, PCOC SAS is suitable for routine clinical care with patients requiring palliative care.
Article
Biology
Cristian Camartin, Linda Bjorkhem-Bergman
Summary: Palliative sedation, as a last resort for treating unbearable symptoms in end-of-life patients, aims to provide symptom relief without inducing death. Studies have shown that it is a safe and valuable treatment, particularly in Switzerland where assisted suicide is legal.
Article
Oncology
Hideyuki Hirayama, Eriko Satomi, Yoshiyuki Kizawa, Mayuko Miyazaki, Keita Tagami, Ryuichi Sekine, Kozue Suzuki, Nobuyuki Yotani, Koji Sugano, Hirofumi Abo, Akihiro Sakashita, Kazuki Sato, Sari Nakagawa, Yoko Nakazawa, Jun Hamano, Mitsunori Miyashita
Summary: This multicenter observational study conducted in Japan aimed to explore the effectiveness of hospital-based palliative care teams (HPCTs) using patient-reported outcomes (PROs). The results showed that HPCTs effectively improved severe symptoms in palliative care patients, highlighting the difficulty of symptom relief and the need for improved care.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2023)
Article
Oncology
D. Sit, B. Zhao, K. T. Chen, C. Lohrisch, R. Olson, A. Nichol, F. Hsu
Summary: The relationship between breast cancer subtypes and patient-reported outcomes following palliative radiotherapy for bone metastases was assessed. The study found that patients with triple negative breast cancer had lower rates of pain, function, and symptom improvement after radiation therapy.
Article
Oncology
Jeannette Vogt, Franziska Beyer, Jochen Sistermanns, Jonas Kuon, Christoph Kahl, Bernd Alt-Epping, Susanne Stevens, Miriam Ahlborn, Christian George, Andrea Heider, Maria Tienken, Carmen Loquai, Kerstin Stahlhut, Anne Ruellan, Thomas Kubin, Andreas Dietz, Karin Oechsle, Anja Mehnert-Theuerkauf, Birgitt van Oorschot, Michael Thomas, Olaf Ortmann, Christoph Engel, Florian Lordick
Summary: The study revealed that patients diagnosed with incurable cancer experience high levels of distress, symptom burden, and supportive care needs, which vary over time. Early screening using standardized tools and early palliative care are crucial in improving the quality of palliative care services for these patients.
Article
Nursing
Anne Kuusisto, Kaija Saranto, Paeivi Korhonen, Elina Haavisto
Summary: This study aimed to explore the experiences of social and healthcare professionals in end-of-life care planning and documentation. Through interviews, data were collected from different professionals and two main categories were identified: patient-oriented end-of-life care planning and multi-professional end-of-life care planning documentation. The results showed that healthcare professionals emphasized the need for structured documentation to support proactive, patient-oriented, and multi-professional end-of-life care planning.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Yasuhiro Hamatani, Moritake Iguchi, Yurika Ikeyama, Atsuko Kunugida, Megumi Ogawa, Natsushige Yasuda, Kana Fujimoto, Hidenori Ichihara, Misaki Sakai, Tae Kinoshita, Yasuyo Nakashima, Masaharu Akao
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the symptom burden of hospitalized patients with heart failure (HF) and its prognostic significance. The study found that patients with HF had multi-dimensional symptom burdens that varied among individuals and were not correlated with the severity of the disease. Emotional symptoms became the main clinically relevant symptoms at discharge, and worsening symptom burden was associated with a poor prognosis.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Molly A. Kantor, Brandon S. Scott, Yumiko Abe-Jones, Katie E. Raffel, Robert Thombley, Michelle Mourad
Summary: The institution-wide intervention significantly increased the number of accessible ACP documents, improving the recording and viewing of ACP conversations. The intervention also increased the access rate to ACP documents.
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Carsten Nieder, Luka Stanisavljevic, Siv Gyda Aanes, Bard Mannsaker, Ellinor Christin Haukland
Summary: This study aimed to develop a model to predict the 30-day mortality risk in patients with brain metastases. The study found that extracranial tumor progression was the main cause of 30-day mortality, and there were few unexpected deaths. Logistic regression analysis identified 9 risk factors associated with 30-day mortality, and patients were categorized into different risk groups based on their point sum.
RADIATION ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Jelle van Gurp, Jeroen van Wijngaarden, Sheila Payne, Lukas Radbruch, Karen van Beek, Agnes Csikos, Marlieke Herder-van der Eerden, Jeroen Hasselaar
Summary: This study examines the roles and attitudes that palliative care professionals need to adopt in order to further integrate palliative care in Europe. The findings suggest that diplomacy and cultural wisdom are essential for achieving trust and normative integration between palliative care and curative and/or chronic medicine.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH POLICY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Marc Ulrich Becher, Mahmoud Balata, Michaela Hesse, Fabian Draht, Christian Zachoval, Birgitta Weltermann, Ralf Westenfeld, Martin Neukirchen, Roman Pfister, Thomas Standl, Lukas Radbruch, Georg Nickenig
Summary: The EPCHF study is a prospective investigation on the use of interdisciplinary palliative care in the management of HF, focusing on 200 symptomatic HF patients. It aims to evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of palliative care in HF treatment, as well as patient-centered outcomes and clinical results.
CLINICAL RESEARCH IN CARDIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
William E. Rosa, Amisha parekh de Campos, Nauzley C. Abedini, Tamryn F. Gray, Huda Abu-Saad Huijer, Afsan Bhadelia, Juli McGowan Boit, Samuel Byiringiro, Nigel Crisp, Constance Dahlin, Patricia M. Davidson, Sheila Davis, Liliana De Lima, Paul E. Farmer, Betty R. Ferrell, Vedaste Hategekimana, Viola Karanja, Felicia Marie Knaul, Julius D. N. Kpoeh, Joseph Lusaka, Samuel T. Matula, Cory McMahon, Salimah H. Meghani, Patricia J. Moreland, Christian Ntizimira, Lukas Radbruch, M. R. Rajagopal, Julia Downing
Summary: Access to palliative care is crucial for achieving the highest standard of health. Nurses play a key role in expanding palliative care access and their contributions should be recognized and supported.
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Anesthesiology
Johannes Just, F. Petzke, N. Scherbaum, L. Radbruch, K. Weckbecker, W. Haeuser
Summary: Although there is no opioid crisis in Germany, new studies have revealed a surprisingly high prevalence of opioid use disorder among patients with chronic noncancer pain. The DSM-5 criteria for diagnosis may not be fully applicable to these patients, but can help raise awareness of potential issues. Risk factors for opioid use disorder include younger age, depressive disorders, and high daily doses of opioids. More research is needed to better understand and address this previously underestimated phenomenon.
Article
Anesthesiology
Vera Peuckmann-Post, Alexandra Scherg, Norbert Krumm, Carolin Hagedorn, Lukas Radbruch, Andras Keszei, Roman Rolke, Frank Elsner
Summary: German Association for Palliative Medicine (DGP) members perceive uncertainty in handling morphine outside of palliative care settings, especially when caring for COVID-19 patients. Most participants express a desire to involve palliative care consultation teams in the future to address this uncertainty. Uniform interdisciplinary guidelines for symptom control and increased education are suggested to improve the use of opioids in medical fields outside of palliative care.
Article
Anesthesiology
Jens Felix Wagner, Henning Cuhls, Martin Muecke, Rupert Conrad, Lukas Radbruch, Roman Rolke
Summary: This study aimed to assess postoperative pain experience in cognitive deficit patients. The results showed no significant differences in postoperative pain intensity among patients with different cognitive impairments. However, quantitative sensory testing revealed mechanical hyperalgesia in the operated area.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Moritz Allner, Magdalena Gostian, Matthias Balk, Robin Rupp, Clarissa Allner, Konstantinos Mantsopoulos, Christoph Ostgathe, Heinrich Iro, Markus Hecht, Antoniu-Oreste Gostian
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the frequency and influencing factors of advance directives in head and neck cancer patients. The results showed that less than half of the patients had created an advance directive, and older age, comorbidities, and being married or in a permanent partnership increased the likelihood of having an appropriate document.
BMC PALLIATIVE CARE
(2022)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Sandra Kurkowski, Kerstin Ziegler, Christian Jaeger, Jorge Luis Torres Cavazos, Maria Heckel, Carsten Klein, Christoph Ostgathe
ZEITSCHRIFT FUR PALLIATIVMEDIZIN
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Eduardo Garralda, Csilla Busa, Eva Pozsgai, Veronika Osztromok-Lukacs, Agnes Csikos, Lukas Radbruch, Jeroen Hasselaar, Johan Menten, Sheila Payne, Claudio Adile, Flavia Hurducas, Carlos Centeno
Summary: This study conducted an online survey to understand the regulations on palliative sedation in Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Romania, and the UK. The results showed that there are 31 laws and regulations affecting palliative sedation, with different approaches in each country. Some countries recognize palliative sedation as a patient's right, while others regulate it through laws on informed consent and advance directives. Professional guidelines also play a role in regulating palliative sedation in some countries.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Eve Namisango, Richard A. Powell, Steve Taylor, Lukas Radbruch, Rachel Freeman, Desderius Haufiku, Beatrice M. MwagombaDrMD, Wilson Acuda, Lameck Thambo, Immaculate Kambiya, Emmanuel B. K. Luyirika, Faith N. Mwangi-Powell, Richard Harding
Summary: In resource-limited settings like Malawi and Namibia, patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) experience high levels of depressive symptoms, physical illness, and other psychological symptoms, emphasizing the importance of integrated person-centered palliative care for optimal care outcomes.
JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Maaike Rijpstra, Kris Vissers, Carlos Centeno, Johan Menten, Lukas Radbruch, Sebastiano Mercadante, Michael van der Elst, Claudio Adile, Maria Arantzamendi, Evelien Kuip, Sheila Payne, Nancy Preston, Jeroen Hasselaar
Summary: This study aims to evaluate the effects of palliative sedation by measuring discomfort levels and sedation/agitation levels of patients. It will be the first international prospective multicenter observational study to provide valuable information about palliative sedation practice in European countries.
BMC PALLIATIVE CARE
(2023)
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Jan Gaertner, Tanja Fusi-Schmidhauser, Stephanie Stock, Waldemar Siemens, Vera Vennedey
Summary: For the treatment of breathlessness in heart failure, opioids are commonly recommended but lack strong evidence. This systematic review of randomized controlled trials suggests that opioids have limited efficacy and may cause adverse effects. Therefore, opioids should be considered as a last resort and only used when other treatments have failed or in emergencies.
Article
Anesthesiology
Frank Peusquens, Katja Maus, Franziska Geiser, Birgit Jaspers, Lukas Radbruch
Summary: The concept of resilience is being disseminated in various scientific fields, including psychology in the medical domain. However, the lack of a precise definition and operationalization of resilience hinders its application in palliative care research.
Article
Oncology
Lisa Linge-Dahl, Rainer Kreuz, Mieke Stoffelen, Sonja Heintz, Willibald Ruch, Eckart von Hirschhausen, Lukas Radbruch
Summary: This study evaluated the effects of a humour intervention in a palliative care setting. The findings showed that the intervention reduced seriousness, bad mood, and stress, while increasing cheerfulness. However, the intervention setting was too exhausting for most patients.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Lisa Linge-Dahl, Sonja Heintz, Willibald Ruch, Maria Bley, Eckart von Hirschhausen, Lukas Radbruch
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of humor intervention in palliative care through a pilot study. The initial research design needed to be adjusted to accommodate patients with high symptom burden. The final study will evaluate the effects of one to two interventions on patients using standardized questionnaires and hormone level measurements.
PALLIATIVE MEDICINE REPORTS
(2023)