Palliative management of spinal cord compression
Richard Hillier and Bee Wee
pp 189-192
Spinal cord compression caused by malignant disease is a neurological emergency. The three key issues for the palliative care team are diagnosis, acute treatment and rehabilitation.
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International control of opioids for medical use
Carmen Selva
pp 194-198
For many centuries plants and their extracts have been used for the treatment of diseases. Opium and its derivatives, also known as opiates, were considered to be natural drugs useful in medicine for their analgesic properties. Opium is the exuded latex obtained by incision into the unripe capsules of the poppy plant. This is the raw opium, and it may contain up to 25 different alkaloids, with morphine and codeine being the more important.
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Running a hospice staff support course
Mary Blanche
pp 200-202
No-one doubts that working in hospice care is potentially stressful, and studies have linked this stress, among other factors, to a proximity to deteriorating and dying patients.
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Developing an integrated care pathway for the dying patient
John Ellershaw, Alison Foster, Deborah Murphy, Tom Shea and Susan Overill
pp 203-207
There is an increasing movement in healthcare towards continuous quality improvement and guideline-based practice. The focus is to promote high-quality, efficient, cost-effective care. Current systems of monitoring and evaluating outcomes relating to palliative care are poorly developed. Outcomes reflect the quality of care within an organisation, and purchasers are now beginning to focus on outcomes when negotiating palliative care-related contracts. It is therefore a priority in palliative care to develop effective outcome practice systems.
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The history and development of the EAPC: Part II
Heidi Blumhuber, Franco De Conno and Guillermo Vanegas
pp 210-215
For the EAPC to constantly evolve, it alters its structure accordingly to keep up with developments in the field of palliative care (Figure 1). Since 1990 the day-to-day management activities have been handled by the Head Office based at the Division for Rehabilitation, Pain Therapy and Palliative Care at the National Cancer Institute in Milan, Italy.
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Palliative care in Hong Kong
Bee Wee
pp 216-218
Hong Kong has been the focus of much media attention in recent months. The historic handover has been documented in close detail and the rest of the world remains watchful of the events which are unfolding in Hong Kong. Over six million people live in Hong Kong, where cancer has now become the leading cause of death. In 1992 over 9,000 cancer deaths were reported, with breast and lung being the most common primary forms.
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