Article
Critical Care Medicine
Guido Michels, Manuela Schallenburger, Martin Neukirchen, ICU Palliative Study Grp
Summary: A consensus process is underway in Germany to develop recommendations on palliative care in intensive care for non-oncological patients, aiming to address the needs of patients with advanced diseases.
Article
Oncology
Peter Strang
Summary: New therapeutic approaches can yield promising results for severely ill cancer patients, but also create challenges in prognostication. Palliative oncology is an important part of cancer care, aiming to prolong life and improve quality of life. Integrating specialist palliative care early on in patient care can extend survival.
MOLECULAR ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Deborah Marshall, Melissa D. Aldridge, Kavita Dharmarajan
Summary: Under the CMS' RO Model, a majority of bone metastases patients received shorter radiation courses in hospital outpatient settings. After adjustment, hospital outpatient treatment setting remained a significant predictor for receiving <= 10 fractions. The main contributors to expenditures were the number of fractions and treatment type.
Article
Oncology
D. Blum, A. Seiler, E. Schmidt, M. Pavic, F. Strasser
Summary: This study investigated the integration of specialist palliative care into standard oncology care at Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen 10 years after initial accreditation. Results showed four distinct patterns of integration, with the 'specialist PC-led pattern' being the most prominent. The 2016 follow-up revealed a growing number of patients receiving a collaborative pattern of care, suggesting closer collaboration between oncology and specialist PC early in the disease course.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Anna Chu, Lisa Barbera, Rinku Sutradhar, Urun Erbas Oz, Erin O'Leary, Hsien Seow
Summary: A retrospective cohort study in Ontario, Canada compared recent immigrants and long-term residents in terms of end-of-life cancer care. The study found that immigrants were more likely to receive aggressive care at the end of life compared to long-term residents, while support care varied by ethnicity. Further research is needed to understand contributors to the variations in end-of-life care.
Article
Oncology
Jennifer W. Mack, Erin R. Currie, Vincent Martello, Jordan Gittzus, Asisa Isack, Lauren Fisher, Lisa C. Lindley, Stephanie Gilbertson-White, Eric Roeland, Marie Bakitas
Summary: The study highlighted three main barriers to optimal end-of-life care for adolescents and young adults with cancer: delayed or absent communication about prognosis, inadequate emotional support, and lack of home care models that can support both life-prolonging and palliative goals of care. These barriers created lingering regrets among family caregivers and emphasized the need to improve end-of-life care services to better meet the needs of young cancer patients.
JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE CANCER NETWORK
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Fang Tan, Shan Chen, Lan Huang, Yang Chen, Yan Wu
Summary: This study describes a 4-year practice of continuous palliative sedation (CPS) in a palliative medicine ward in China. The survival time of cancer patients with and without CPS during end-of-life care was compared using the propensity score matching method. The results showed that there was no difference in median survival between patients who were and were not sedated.
Review
Oncology
Stephan Nadolny, Eva Schildmann, Elena S. Gassmann, Jan Schildmann
Summary: This scoping review provides a structured analysis of early palliative care (EPC) interventions and outcome measures. The study found heterogeneity in the elements and target groups of EPC, which poses challenges for developing effective EPC interventions for different groups of cancer patients.
Review
Hematology
Adir Shaulov, Ariel Aviv, Jacqueline Alcalde, Camilla Zimmermann
Summary: This review discusses the barriers to integrating early palliative care (EPC) in patients with hematologic malignancies (HMs), presents models to support its integration, and provides updated evidence from clinical trials.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Keita Tagami, Kento Masukawa, Akira Inoue, Tatsuya Morita, Yusuke Hiratsuka, Mamiko Sato, Katsura Kohata, Noriaki Satake, Yoshiyuki Kizawa, Satoru Tsuneto, Yasuo Shima, Mitsunori Miyashita
Summary: Appropriate timing for SPC referrals for advanced cancer patients and their families is associated with the quality of death, with findings suggesting that the appropriate timing is at the time of diagnosis or during anti-cancer treatment.
SUPPORTIVE CARE IN CANCER
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
J. Nicholas Odom, Allison Applebaum, Marie A. Bakitas, Tara Bryant, Erin Currie, Kayleigh Curry, Heidi Donovan, Maria E. Fernandez, Betty Ferrell, Andres Azuero, Tamryn F. Gray, Bailey A. Hendricks, Diane Meier, Chandylen Nightingale, Susan Reinhard, Timothy S. Sannes, Katherine Sterba, Heather M. Young
Summary: Family caregivers provide the majority of healthcare to cancer patients in the US, however, many of them lack formal support and training. This study aimed to examine the availability of family caregiver support programs in US cancer centers and their implementation.
Article
Oncology
Eran Ben-Arye, Dana Elly, Noah Samuels, Orit Gressel, Katerina Shulman, Elad Schiff, Ofer Lavie, Amir Minerbi
Summary: The study found that high adherence to integrative care was associated with greater pain relief at 6 weeks, but not at 12 weeks, in patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or palliative care.
JOURNAL OF CANCER RESEARCH AND CLINICAL ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Ravi B. Parikh, Ramy Sedhom, William J. Ferrell, Katherine Villarin, Kara Berwanger, Bethann Scarborough, Randall Oyer, Pallavi Kumar, Niharika Ganta, Shanthi Sivendran, Jinbo Chen, Kevin G. Volpp, Justin E. Bekelman
Summary: The objective of this study is to test the impact of an oncologist-directed default PC referral orders on rates of PC utilisation and patient quality of life. The study uses a randomized trial design and involves oncologists receiving electronic health record messages indicating default pending orders for PC, with the option to opt out. The primary outcome is completed PC visits within 12 weeks, with secondary outcomes including changes in quality of life. Study results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Pia von Blanckenburg, Jorge Riera Knorrenschild, Mareike Hofmann, Hansjakob Fries, Yvonne Nestoriuc, Ulf Seifart, Winfried Rief, Carola Seifart
Summary: Open communication with caregivers during serious illness is important for high-quality care. This study explores the differences in expectations, fears, and experiences of end-of-life communication between palliative cancer patients and their caregivers. The results showed that patients and caregivers desire patient autonomy and have generally positive expectations of end-of-life discussions. However, there is a self-other asymmetry, as patients and caregivers expect personal relief from discussing end-of-life issues while also expecting the other person to be burdened by such communication. Professionals need to take the initiative in initiating end-of-life communication.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Shuqin Zhu, Hanfei Zhu, Xintong Zhang, Kouying Liu, Zumei Chen, Xiaowen Yang, Changxian Sun, Weiping Xie, Qin Xu, Weiying Li, Dong Pang, Yan Cui, Hong Wang
Summary: The study aimed to investigate the care needs of dying patients and their family caregivers in hospice and palliative care in mainland China. A total of 18 articles were included, identifying that patients need a comfortable experience and family caregivers need to care for patients and themselves.
