Palliative Care News and Research

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Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.

Accusations reflect conflicting beliefs about care, says commentary in Mayo Clinic Proceedings

In a recent survey of palliative care medicine practitioners, nearly three quarters of the sample reported having been "humorously" accused of promoting death; for example, being called "Dr. Death." Most of the remarks came from fellow physicians and other health care professionals. At the same time, the survey found that a third of investigations into accusations of murder or euthanasia against physicians are instigated by fellow members of the health care team.

4 Sep 2012

Roundup: Calif. Gov. Brown's pension plan silent on current workers' health care; Psychologists want power to prescribe drugs

Gov. Jerry Brown announced a new plan Tuesday to rein in public pension costs that would raise the retirement age, cap benefits for the highest-paid employees and eliminate "spiking" -- but lacks key parts of the bolder system overhaul he proposed months ago and would even increase some payouts. ... The plan also does not address skyrocketing health care costs for retirees, another main element of the governor's first scenario. Hundreds of thousands of government workers have been promised medical coverage for life.

30 Aug 2012

Physicians’ emotional, institutional barriers prolong medical futility at end of life

The most common reasons that clinicians give to explain medically futile treatment at the end of life are emotional difficulties, such as a fear of talking about death, and institutional barriers, such as hospital departments expecting them to “do everything possible,” report German researchers.

29 Aug 2012

Fizzy tablet is best method to receive fentanyl for cancer pain

Results of a mixed treatment comparison show that fentanyl in the form of an effervescent buccal tablet can better relieve the intensity of breakthrough cancer pain in the first 60 minutes after dosing compared with other fentanyl formulations.

23 Aug 2012

‘Sitting service’ at end of life may improve chances of dying at home

Individuals at the end of their life who use a sitting service to avoid being alone while dying or to give respite to family members who are caring for them, are significantly more likely to die at home than those who do not use such a service, report researchers.

22 Aug 2012

Targets to improve palliative patients’ wellbeing identified

Pain, depression, drowsiness, fatigue, and appetite loss are the symptoms that most affect the wellbeing of cancer patients being treated palliatively, report Canadian researchers.

16 Aug 2012

Palliative care on Scottish surgical wards needs improving

More than half of individuals with terminal gastrointestinal cancer on general surgical wards in Scotland do not undergo operative intervention on their final admission, show study results published in The Surgeon.

15 Aug 2012

Addiction to morphine and heroin can be blocked via brain's immune response

In a major breakthrough, an international team of scientists has proven that addiction to morphine and heroin can be blocked, while at the same time increasing pain relief.

15 Aug 2012

Roundup: Seeking medical malpractice alternatives part of Mass. cost control law; Low-Income Health Program signs up 400k in Calif.

It may not seem like big news, but if you've followed the long-running, stubborn and mostly dug-in debate over reforming medical malpractice in the U.S., you know that when doctors and lawyers issue a joint news release, something is really going on. ... Formally, it's called "Disclosure, Apology and Offer" and it's a key provision of the new state health cost law. Massachusetts doctors and lawyers have agreed to work side by side on this less hostile (and potentially cost-saving) approach to dealing with medical errors and malpractice.

9 Aug 2012

About half of adults with type 2 diabetes experience acute and chronic pain

Almost half of adults with type 2 diabetes report acute and chronic pain, and close to one quarter report neuropathy, fatigue, depression, sleep disturbance and physical or emotional disability, according to a study of more than 13,000 adults conducted by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, the University of California, San Francisco and the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, CA. The researchers also found significant rates of shortness of breath, nausea and constipation.

8 Aug 2012

Clinicians need to discuss disorders of consciousness with ethical sensitivity

New tools have confirmed high rates of misdiagnosis of patients with chronic disorders of consciousness, such as the vegetative state. An increasing number of patients' families wish to use these novel techniques for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment.

3 Aug 2012

Opinion of artificial hydration varies by ethnicity

Ethnicity influences whether patients at the end of life and their carers view artificial hydration as food or medicine, with more individuals from ethnic minorities viewing it as food than non-Hispanic European Americans, show US study results.

1 Aug 2012

Antioxidants and pancreatic cancer risk: an interview with Dr Andrew Hart

The antioxidants that we mainly looked at were selenium, vitamin C and vitamin E. They are chemicals which inactivate pro-oxidants or free radicals. Smoking and normal metabolism can lead to the production of free radicals.

30 Jul 2012

Central mechanism would remove physician from assisted-dying process

The development of a central state or federal mechanism in the USA that would confirm the authenticity and eligibility of terminally ill patients’ requests for death, dispense medication, and monitor demand and use, could remove physicians from the assisted dying process, say researchers.

24 Jul 2012

Kids with T13 or 18 and their families lead a happy life

Children with trisomy 13 or 18, who are for the most part severely disabled and have a very short life expectancy, and their families lead a life that is happy and rewarding overall, contrary to the usually gloomy predictions made by the medical community at the time of diagnosis, according to a study of parents who are members of support groups published today in Pediatrics.

23 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Texas' indifference to health needs for the poor; Sen. Grassley says IRS is too busy to deal with health law

The state with the country's worst health care record just happens to have a governor who has been the loudest voice against national efforts to improve it. A quarter of the residents of Texas, 6.3 million people, are uninsured, by far the highest percentage in the country. ... Yet Gov. Rick Perry -; strangely puffed up as he was so often in his presidential bid -; recently told the Obama administration that he would proudly refuse a huge infusion of Medicaid money that would significantly reduce those shameful statistics and cover 1.7 million more people.

18 Jul 2012

MedStar NRH, Georgetown University create new Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery

Georgetown University and MedStar National Rehabilitation Network announced today a new research and patient care partnership that extends the boundaries of neuroscience. The new Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery marks the launch of a rare research continuum spanning basic and translational science in brain recovery.

14 Jul 2012