Browse Items (87 total)

Concerns about the safety of therapy with methadone, which may arise because of its pharmacokinetic characteristics and inappropriate dosing, may deter clinicians from using this drug, especially in elderly patients. Experience is accumulating that…

AIM: To assess the use of methadone in patients with cancer pain who fail to respond to increasing doses of other opioids or experience intolerable side-effects from them. METHOD: Inpatients of a specialist palliative care unit were titrated onto…

Measurement is a fundamental step in improving the quality of care for dying patients and their families. Yet, there are important methodological challenges to be addressed. In conducting surveys about the patient and family experience, research is…

Anecdotal reports suggest that the general anaesthetic drug ketamine, taken orally in low doses, can give rise to some extra analgesia in patients with refractory neuropathic pain. This study was designed to determine the proportion of patients with…

The field of grief therapy is currently in a state of conceptual revolution, opening the prospect of reconfiguring our understanding of the human experience of loss along constructivist lines. In this article I outline some of the tenets of such an…

BACKGROUND: Acute colonic pseudo-obstruction -- that is, massive dilation of the colon without mechanical obstruction -- may develop after surgery or severe illness. Although it may resolve with conservative therapy, colonoscopic decompression is…

Neuromuscular disorders are common causes of weakness and hypotonia in the infantile period and in childhood. Accurate diagnosis of specific neuromuscular disorders depends first on identification of which aspect of the peripheral neuromuscular…

We highlight current theories about peripheral neuropathic pain and show that progress in management is contingent on targeting treatment not at the aetiological factors or the symptoms but at the mechanisms that operate to produce the symptoms. This…

OBJECTIVES: To record the number of children with withdrawal symptoms after the administration of sedatives for mechanical ventilation, and to discuss the possible connection with the administration of midazolam. DESIGN: Retrospective data collection…

BACKGROUND: Feeding impairment frequently complicates the course of children with neurologic disorders and places them at risk for malnutrition and growth failure. Although feeding abnormalities have been reported in female patients with Rett…

Over the last 10 years, there has been a fundamental change in physicians' attitudes toward analgesia and sedation in pediatrics. In this time, basic and clinical research have provided a wealth of information. In this paper we review important…

In appropriately selected patients, PCA safely provides analgesia superior to that obtained with traditional IM prn opioid administration; however, to date, no compelling evidence shows that PCA is associated with a reduction in morbidity or a more…

Sedation with analgesia is frequently required to perform painful or invasive procedures in children. The best medication combination for pediatric sedation with analgesia is yet to be identified. Sixty-four of 243 total sedation with analgesia…

The relationship between perceptions of control and symptoms of both long-term depression and post-traumatic stress was examined. Enduring beliefs of personal competence and control were found to be associated with lower rates of depression and…

According to recent data, 78 percent of hospice social workers' direct practice hours are spent with patients and families diagnosed with terminal cancer. A national sample of 108 hospice social workers participated in an exploratory study…

Autism is a collection of disorders or subtypes with distinctive or prominent phenotypes and genotypes. The study of adults with autism offers a unique opportunity to examine its phenotypic diversity. Recent evidence has identified disturbances in…

This presentation will cover the history, recent developments in, and implications of the ability of both the immune and neuroendocrine systems to produce POMC. The discovery of POMC in immune cells was one of the events that heralded a molecular…

We report a prospective study assessing the prevalence and severity of physical and nonphysical symptoms, and the benefits from treatment and intervention, in advanced cancer patients presenting to a local palliative care unit in Hong Kong. Patients…

OBJECTIVES: To develop a measure of parental perceptions of pediatric inpatient quality of care, to identify processes of care that influence these perceptions, and to describe these perceptions of care. DESIGN: An interdisciplinary team modified an…

Despite the universality of dying, research has not focused on developing conceptual models and measurement tools for examining the quality of care and quality of life of dying patients and their loved ones. We present here a vision and research…

The indications for sedation in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patient are varied ranging from short term use for various procedures to prolonged administration to provide comfort during mechanical ventilation. When faced with the decision…

We studied the circadian rhythm of serum melatonin levels in two patients with classical Rett syndrome having severe sleep disorders; serum melatonin levels were measured before and during melatonin treatment using radioimmunoassay. Patient 1 had a…

Sexual dysfunction in male cardiac transplant recipients has received little systematic study. Problems reported in the literature include impotence, ejaculation problems, decreased libido and avoidance of sexual opportunities. PURPOSE: Investigate…

This article is a follow-up study of bereaved caregiving male partners of men with AIDS (T.A. Richards & S. Folkman, 1997). The earlier study examined spiritual beliefs, experiences, and practices reported in interviews with 125 caregivers conducted…

In the Salutogenic Model, Aaron Antonovsky suggested that a sense of coherence (SOC) is the key determinant in the maintenance of health. He theorized that individuals with a strong SOC have the ability to (a) define life events as less stressful…

A computer and a hand search of the literature recovered 33 papers from which 25 trials suitable for meta-analysis were identified. We compared the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural treatments with the waiting list control and alternative…

One hundred fifty-nine young adults in the 17-18 year old age group suffering from chronic disease or handicap participated in this study which examined their attitudes towards enforced treatment and euthanasia in terminal patients. The comparison…

In this research study, a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used to assess the impact of the Cardiovascular Health Education Program (CHEP) on the cardiovascular health knowledge of grade eight adolescents. A…

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the potential role for palliative care services in the care of individuals with muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy, and the support of their families., METHODOLOGY: Semistructured interviews were conducted…

The relation between the timing of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders and the cost of medical care is not well understood. This prospective observational study compares hospital costs and length of stay of 265 terminally ill patients with admission DNR…

For nearly a century, bereavement theorists have assumed that recovery from loss requires a period of grief work in which the ultimate goal is the severing of the attachment bond to the deceased. Reviews appearing in the 1980s noted a surprising…
Output Formats

atom, dcmes-xml, json, omeka-xml, rss2