Comment: Acute oncology and palliative care: musings on relationships
Carol Davis
pp 265-265
In England, the National Cancer Action Team has introduced the multidisciplinary speciality of acute oncology, which allows more effective diagnostic pathways for new patients presenting acutely with symptoms of cancer, reducing unnecessary investigations and length of hospital stay...
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Management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in palliative care – is less more?
Korana Kindl, Nathalie van Havre and Janet Hardy
pp 266-269
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common and increasingly frequent condition, with a worldwide prevalence of 6.4%. It is one of the most common co-morbidities in cancer patients. Type 2 DM (T2DM) makes up 85–90% of people with diabetes and is characterised by insulin resistance and a relative impairment in insulin secretion. Its pathogenesis differs from type 1 DM, with lifestyle factors, such as obesity, playing a key role. Relevant to the palliative care context, there are multiple other risk factors…
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Managing extrapyramidal side-effects induced by metoclopramide in the palliative care setting
Breffni Hannon, Peter Fitzgerald and Eoin Tiernan
pp 270-274
Extrapyramidal side-effects (EPSEs) are commonly observed with antipsychotic drugs, but are associated with an array of medications that affect dopaminergic transmission directly or indirectly, including some anti-emetics, antidepressants and calcium channel blockers. These side-effects can be divided into four categories: dystonia, pseudo-parkinsonism, akathisia (‘restless legs’ syndrome) and tardive dyskinesia. Metoclopramide is one of the most commonly prescribed anti-emetics in palliative care, accounting for approximately 50% of prescriptions in the UK. Metoclopramide-induced EPSEs in the palliative care setting are an under-recognised and reversible cause of distress and suffering…
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Implementing spiritual care at the end of life: Italy
Laura Campanello, Cinzia Martini and Filippo Laurenti
pp 274-275
The majority of the Italian population (80%) is Roman Catholic – practising Catholics stand at around 30%. There is also a significant presence of Jewish people (45,000), Muslims (150,000) and Protestants (700,000, including 50,000 Waldensians)…
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Case study masterclass 65: Addressing the risk of falls in a man with advanced cancer
Carol A Stone
pp 276-277
Edward is a 77-year-old retired office clerk who has prostate cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He has hormone-resistant cancer with bone and lymph node metastases. Three months ago, following progression of his disease during treatment with docetaxel, he was commenced on abiraterone…
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Case study masterclass 64 answers: Recognising the palliative care needs of a patient with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Sabrina Bajwah and Donna Louise Laird
pp 278-278
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Palliative care in dementia – a family carer’s view
Barbara Pointon
pp 279-281
My husband, Malcolm, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 51, and I cared for him for 16 years…
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Palliative care in dementia – two nurses’ views
Jo Hockley and Min Stacpoole
pp 282-284
This article covers what two palliative care nurses from different backgrounds have learned while working with staff caring for people with advanced dementia…
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Falls prevention in a palliative care unit: evaluation of an infrared sensor device
Abdelbari Baitar, Lieve Deckers, Eric Messens, Frank Van Fraeyenhove and Dirk Schrijvers
pp 285-287
Patients admitted to palliative care units and hospices are prone to falls, with an average of more than two falls per hospice per month, a fall rate of 16.9 per 1,000 bed-days and an annual fall rate of 5.7 per occupied hospice bed…
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Quality assessment in palliative care – current concepts and recent developments
Michael Lucey
pp 288-291
Over the past two decades, there has been an increasing emphasis on delivering high-quality healthcare for the greatest number of patients. Palliative care, along with other healthcare services, is an area being held increasingly accountable for the services that it provides. This requires the industry to demonstrate standards of care…
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A palliative care outcome measure for children in sub-Saharan Africa: early development findings
Julia Downing, Mackuline Ojing, Richard A Powell, Zipporah Ali, Joan Marston, Michelle Meiring, Jennifer Ssengooba, Stephen Williams, Faith Mwangi-Powell and Richard Harding
pp 292-295
The need for palliative care for children in sub-Saharan Africa is significant, with a mortality rate of 14.5% for children under five years of age. In addition, 3.1 million children in sub-Saharan Africa are living with HIV, and 84% of the 166,000 children diagnosed annually with cancer live in the developing world, many of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Children’s palliative care is a relatively new discipline to the continent, and continuing effort is required to expand access to quality palliative care for children. The measurement of the core domains of palliative care is essential…
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Young carers in palliative care: a groupwork project
Jenny Baulkwill, Andrea Dechamps, Julia Manning, Ninon van der Kroft and Malcolm Payne
pp 296-298
Analysis of the 2001 UK census found that 114,000 children aged five to 15 acted as informal carers for an adult with a chronic illness; 5,000 of them provided more than 50 hours of care each week. Concern has been rising for some years about the health and social consequences of being a young carer…
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Giving a voice to serious illness
Alun Charles Jones and Barbara Woodworth
pp 300-303
As healthcare professionals, we live in an age where personal complaint and litigation are both encouraged and feared. […] A fear of being blamed for causing upset might prevent nurses or other healthcare professionals from negotiating with the painful aspects of a patient’s life. Healthcare professionals might also feel uncomfortable because there are no formulaic remedies to ease emotional pain and suffering. A method for helping healthcare professionals recognise and manage their feelings in order to facilitate greater empathy, known as Schwartz Center Rounds®, has been developed in the USA…
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A day in the life of … Marina Martínez Garcia, Clinical Psychologist
Marina Martínez Garcia
pp 304-305
It is 8.30 am, and I arrive at my office. I turn on the computer to see my emails and to consult with in- and outpatients. I belong to the palliative care team at the University of Navarra Hospital, comprising two physicians, two nurses and a psychologist…
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European insight: Pain and Palliative Care Forum: improving palliative nursing
Olwen Minford
pp 306-308
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) was founded in 1916 as a professional group for trained nurses and has since evolved into a successful organisation representing nurses and nursing…
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Trondheim behind the scenes
Ragnhild Green Helgås, Anne Kari Knudsen, Per Sjøgren and Stein Kaasa
pp 310-311
This year, for the first time, the Research Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) returned to a previous location…
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