Tuesday 21 April 2009

Articles from Critical Care Medicine

Link to full text of journal
Crippen, David MD, FCCM
Palliation for high-risk patients: Should we be watching? .[Editorial]
Source
Critical Care Medicine. 37(4):1498-1499, April 2009.

Whetstine, Leslie M. ; Crippen, David
Shortening the dying process: More than a feelin' .[Editorial]
Critical Care Medicine. 37(4):1489-1490, April 2009.

Song, Mi-Kyung ; De Vito Dabbs, Annette ; Studer, Sean M. ; Arnold, Robert M. Palliative care referrals after lung transplantation in major transplant centers in the United States
Critical Care Medicine. 37(4):1288-1292, April 2009.
Abstract
Objective: Although lung transplantation is a widely used treatment modality for patients with end-stage lung disease, its long-term outcomes are limited. Including palliative approaches in the care of lung transplant recipients may be beneficial; however, systematic information regarding the utilization of palliative care services for lung recipients is lacking.Design and Setting: Of the 27 transplant centers meeting the inclusion criteria (an annual lung transplant volume >=15 for the past 5 years and the availability of palliative care or pain services at the center), 74 clinicians representing either the transplant or palliative care program from 18 centers completed surveys.Results: Both transplant and palliative care clinician respondents strongly favored the idea of integrating palliative care into lung transplant care. However, the number of palliative care referrals made during the last year was low (<=5 per center). The three most frequently endorsed reasons for palliative care referrals were end-of-life planning, uncontrolled pain and symptoms, and limited functional status. The average length of survival after referral was <30 days. Palliative care clinicians considered misconceptions that palliative care meant "end-of-life care" as a major barrier, whereas transplant clinicians identified uncertainty about recipients' prognoses, the perception that palliative care precludes aggressive treatment, and difficulty in discussing palliative care with recipients and family as barriers.Conclusions: Despite clinicians' positive attitudes toward integrating palliative and lung transplant care, actual utilization of palliative care services is low. Collaborative efforts to enhance communication between the two programs are needed to clarify misconceptions and promote understanding between the programs.(C) 2009 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

Manthous, Constantine A.
Why not physician-assisted death?
Critical Care Medicine. 37(4):1206-1209, April 2009.
Abstract
Objective: The Hippocratic Oath states "[horizontal ellipsis] I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath). Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are topics that engender a strong negative response on the part of many physicians and patients. This article explores contributions of religion, Western medical mores, law, and emerging concepts of moral neurocognition that may explain our inherent aversion to these ideas.Sources: Religious texts, legal opinions, manifestos of medical ethics, medical literature, and lay literature.Conclusion: Our collective repudiation of physician-assisted death, in all its forms, has complex origins that are not necessarily rational. If great care is taken to ensure that a request for physician-assisted death is persistent despite exhaustion of all available therapeutic modalities, then an argument can be made that our rejection constrains unnecessarily the liberty of a small number of patients.(C) 2009 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

Intl Journal of Palliative Nursing Vol 15 No 3 2009

p. 107
Out of pocket.
Black, P.
pp. 108-109
Can the palliative care services of today keep up and match the expectations of the `baby boomer' generation?.
Becker, R.
pp. 110-119
Effecting positive change with bereaved service users in a hospice setting.
Agnew, A.; Duffy, J.
pp. 120-127
A neurological care pathway for meeting the palliative care needs of people with life-limiting neurological conditions.
Brown, J.B.; Sutton, L.
pp. 128-133
The prebereavement psychological needs of AIDS-affected adolescents in Uganda.
Withell, B.
pp. 134-141
Providing comfort to patients in their palliative care trajectory: experiences of female nurses working in an acute setting.
Roche-Fahy, V.; Dowling, M.
pp. 142-147
Paediatric antiretroviral therapy outcomes under HIV hospice care in South Africa.
Harding, R.; Brits, H.; Penfold, S.

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Palliative medicine Vol 23 No 2 2009

Link to full text online
pp. 104-111
Symptom management for the adult patient dying with advanced chronic kidney disease: A review of the literature and development of evidence-based guidelines by a United Kingdom Expert Consensus Group.
Douglas, C.; Murtagh, F.E.M.; Chambers, E.J.; Howse, M.; Ellershaw, J.
p. 112
Original Articles.
pp. 112-120
Symptom burden and quality of life in end-stage renal disease: a study of 179 patients on dialysis and palliative care.
Yong, D.S.P.; Kwok, A.O.L.; Wong, D.M.L.; Suen, M.H.P.; Chen, W.T.; Tse, D.M.W.
pp. 121-126
Palliative stage Parkinson's disease: patient and family experiences of health-care services.
Giles, S.; Miyasaki, J.
pp. 127-132
Professionals delivering palliative care to people with COPD: qualitative study.
Spence, A.; Masson, F.; Waldron, M.; Kernohan, W.G.; McLaughlin, D.; Watson, B.et al
pp. 133-141
Patients' constructions of disability in metastatic spinal cord compression.
Eva, G.; Paley, J.; Miller, M.; Wee, B.
pp. 142-150
Family and friends provide most social support for the bereaved.
Benkel, I.; Wijk, H.; Molander, U.
pp. 151-158
Family meetings in palliative care: are they effective?.
Hudson, P.; Thomas, T.; Quinn, K.; Aranda, S.
pp. 159-165
A profile of the belief system and attitudes to end-of-life decisions of senior clinicians working in a National Health Service Hospital in the United Kingdom.
Pugh, E.J.; Song, R.; Whittaker, V.; Blenkinsopp, J.
pp. 166-171
The existential impact of starting corticosteroid treatment as symptom control in advanced metastatic cancer.
Lundstrom, S.; Furst, C.J.; Friedrichsen, M.; Strang, P.
pp. 172-179
Fatigue dimensions in patients with advanced cancer in relation to time of survival and quality of life.
Hagelin, C.L.; Wengstrom, Y.; Ahsberg, E.; Furst, C.J.
pp. 180-181
The cochrane pain, palliative and supportive care group: an update.
Wiffen, P.J.; Eccleston, C.
pp. 182-182
What keeps a palliative medicine physician so busy with patients? Time expenditure in palliative care.
Spoon, A.S.; Centeno, C.; Rodriguez, J.; Ros, W.

Palliative & Supportive Care Vol 7 No 1 2009

pp. 1-2
Is House, M.D., always right?.
Wein, S.
pp. 3-6
A call for simple and rational palliative medicine psychotropic prescribing guidelines: Response to Barnhorst et al. (Palliative & Supportive Care, Volume 6, Number 1, 2008).
Irwin, S.
pp. 7-12
The lived experience of parenting a child with a life-limiting condition: A focus on the mental health realm.
Rodriguez, A.; King, N.
pp. 13-26
Adolescents' experiences of a parent's serious illness and death.
Dehlin, L.; Martensson, L.
pp. 27-36
Place of death of adolescents and young adults with cancer: First study in a French population.
Montel, S.; Laurence, V.; Copel, L.; Pacquement, H.; Flahault, C.
pp. 37-48
Can short hospice enrollment be long enough? Comparing the perspectives of hospice professionals and family caregivers.
Waldrop, D.P.; Rinfrette, E.S.
pp. 49-56
Recruitment and retention of palliative cancer patients and their partners participating in a longitudinal evaluation of a psychosocial retreat program.
Garland, S.N.; Carlson, L.E.; Marr, H.; Simpson, S.
pp. 57-64
Implementation of computerized technology in a palliative care unit.
Andre, B.; Ringdal, G.I.; Loge, J.H.; Rannestad, T.; Kaasa, S.
pp. 65-74
The patient lived experience for surgical treatment of colorectal liver metastases: A phenomenological study.
McCahill, L.; Hamel-Bissell, B.P.
pp. 75-86
The project ENABLE II randomized controlled trial to improve palliative care for rural patients with advanced cancer: Baseline findings, methodological challenges, and solutions.
Bakitas, M.; Lyons, K.D.; Hegel, M.T.; Balan, S.; Barnett, K.N.; Brokaw, F.C et al
pp. 87-96
Individual brief art therapy can be helpful for women with breast cancer: A randomized controlled clinical study.
Thyme, K.E.; Sundin, E.C.; Wiberg, B.; Oster, I.; Astrom, S.; Lindh, J.
pp. 97-108
The spiritual meaning of pre-loss music therapy to bereaved caregivers of advanced cancer patients.
Magill, L.
pp. 109-120
Morbidity, mortality, and parental grief: A review of the literature on the relationship between the death of a child and the subsequent health of parents.
Hendrickson, K.
pp. 121-131
Personal reflections on love, death and suffering: My narrative of the final days of my husband's life.
Sjolander, C.T.