The Use of Cannabinoids in Pediatric Palliative Care-A Retrospective Single-Center Analysis
child; Palliative Care; diagnosis; article; female; human; male; retrospective study; Cannabinoids; spasticity; epilepsy; quality of life; outpatient; palliative therapy; pain; anxiety; clinical article; school child; human tissue; side effect; adolescent; therapy; drug dose increase; drug combination; drug therapy; nausea; adverse drug reaction; pediatric patient; loss of appetite; paresis; restlessness; special situation for pharmacovigilance; cannabinoid; add on therapy; decreased appetite
This data analysis aimed to systematically analyze a pediatric patient population with a life-limiting disease who were administered cannabinoids. It was a retrospective single-center analysis of patients under supervision of the specialized outpatient pediatric palliative care (SOPPC) team at the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). Thirty-one patients with a primary diagnosis of neuropediatric, oncologic, metabolic, and cardiologic categories were included. The indications we identified were spasticity, pain, restlessness, anxiety, loss of appetite, epilepsy, and paresis. Certain aspects of quality of life were improved for 20 of 31 patients (64.5%). For nine patients (29%), no improvement was detected. No conclusions could be drawn for two patients (6.5%). Adverse events were reported for six of the thirty-one patients (19.4%). These were graded as mild, including symptoms such as restlessness, nausea, and behavioral issues. We detected no clinically relevant interactions with other medications. We collected fundamental data on the use of cannabinoids by pediatric palliative patients. Cannabinoids are now frequently administered in pediatric palliative care. They seem to be safe to use and should be considered an add-on therapy for other drug regimens.
Tagsold D; Toni I; Trollmann R; Woelfle J; Gravou-Apostolatou C
Children
2024
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.3390/children11020234" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.3390/children11020234</a>
What do parents think about the quality and safety of care provided by hospitals to children and young people with an intellectual disability? A qualitative study using thematic analysis
child; disability; article; controlled study; female; human; male; palliative therapy; preschool child; child parent relation; aged; interview; parent; interpersonal communication; school child; intellectual impairment; qualitative research; side effect; hospital care; adolescent; health care system; drug therapy; semi structured interview; adverse drug reaction; patient safety; pediatric hospital; thematic analysis; special situation for pharmacovigilance; kindness
Objectives: Children with intellectual disability experience patient safety issues resulting in poor care experiences and health outcomes. This study sought to identify patient safety issues that pertain to children aged 0-16 years with intellectual disability admitted to two tertiary state-wide children's hospitals and a children's palliative care centre; to describe and understand these factors to modify the Australian Patient Safety Education Framework to meet the particular needs for children and young people with intellectual disability. Design, setting and participants: Parents of children with intellectual disability from two paediatric hospitals and a palliative care unit participated in semi-structured interviews to elicit their experiences of their child's care in the context of patient safety. Thirteen interviews were conducted with parents from various backgrounds with children with intellectual, developmental and medical diagnoses. Results: Eight themes about safety in hospital care for children and young people with intellectual disability emerged from thematic analyses: Safety is not only being safe but feeling safe; Negative dismissive attitudes compromise safety, quality and care experience; Parental roles as safety advocates involve being heard, included and empowered; Need for purposeful and planned communication and care coordination to build trust and improve care; Systems, processes and environments require adjustments to prevent patient safety events; Inequity in care due to lack of resources and skills, Need for training in disability-specific safety and quality issues and Core staff attributes: Kindness, Patience, Flexibility and Responsiveness. Parents highlighted the dilemma of being dismissed when raising concerns with staff and being required to provide care with little support. Parents also reported a lack of comprehensive care coordination services. They noted limitations within the healthcare system in accommodating reasonable adjustments for a family and child-centred context. Conclusions: The development of an adapted Patient Safety Education Framework for children with intellectual disability should consider ways for staff to transform attitudes and reduce bias which leads to adaptations for safer and better care. In addition, issues that apply to quality and safety for these children can be generalised to all children in the hospital. Patient and public contribution: Parent advocates in the project advisory team were shown the questions to determine their appropriateness for the interviews.
Ong N; Lucien A; Long J; Weise J; Burgess A; Walton M
Health Expectations
2023
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/hex.13925" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1111/hex.13925</a>
Medical marijuana use for pediatric oncology patients: single institution experience
adolescent; adult; adverse drug reaction; anxiety; article; burn; cancer patient; cancer therapy; child; childhood cancer; clinical article; drug safety; drug therapy; female; human; male; medical cannabis; Medical marijuana; microcapsule; mood; nausea and vomiting; pain; palliative therapy; pediatric oncology; prescription; side effect; sleep; smoke; smoking; supportive care; throat; vaporization; young adult
Medical marijuana (MM) is widespread in many medical fields, including oncology, with limited use in pediatric oncology where research is scarce and often shows conflicting results. This research focuses on alleviating side effects of anticancer treatment as an integral part of supportive and palliative care of children with cancer. We report our experience with MM treatment in 50 children, adolescents, and young adults with different types of cancer during 2010-2017. The main indications for prescriptions were nausea and vomiting, decreased mood, disturbed sleep, and pain. The medication was supplied to 30 patients via oil drops (60%) and 11 via smoking (22%), followed by vaporization, capsules, or combinations of various routes. Positive effects were reported by verbal children and parents in 80% of cases. MM was generally well tolerated with few patients reporting toxicity, with the most common adverse reactions being burning in the throat and anxiety attacks in subjects who chose to smoke the product. We conclude that MM may serve as a potentially useful complementary therapy to conventional supportive treatment of children suffering from cancer at the end of life. Further research is needed on the safety and efficacy and the consequences of prolonged use in pediatric populations. Copyright © 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Ofir R; Bar-Sela G; Weyl Ben-Arush M; Postovsky S
Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.
2019
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/08880018.2019.1630537" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1080/08880018.2019.1630537</a>
Preferences regarding end-of-life care among adolescents and young adults with cancer: results from a comprehensive multicenter survey in Japan
Adolescent and young adult; adult; adverse drug reaction; anxiety; article; cancer; cancer prognosis; cancer survival; cancer survivor; cancer therapy; chemotherapy; child; controlled study; end-of-life care; female; health care personnel; human; Japan; major clinical study; male; multicenter study; palliative therapy; patient history of chemotherapy; preference; prognostic disclosure; questionnaire; side effect; terminal care; young adult
CONTEXT: Patient preferences influence end-of-life (EOL) care which patients receive. However, preferences regarding EOL care among adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer population remain unclear. OBJECTIVE(S): The objective of the study was to evaluate preferences regarding EOL care among AYA cancer population. METHOD(S): We evaluated preferences regarding EOL care as a part of a comprehensive multicenter questionnaire study investigating the experience and needs of Japanese AYA cancer population. RESULT(S): A total of 349 AYA cancer population (213 AYA cancer patients and 136 AYA cancer survivors) were evaluated. Eighteen six percent (296/344), 53% (180/338), 88% (301/341) and 61% (207/342) of participants with valid response preferred to have prognostic disclosure, receive palliative chemotherapy for incurable cancer with limited efficacy at the expense of considerable toxicity, actively use palliative care and stay home at EOL, respectively. In multivariate analysis, the preference regarding prognostic disclosure was associated positively with no child status (OR = 3.05, p = 0.003) and negatively with history of chemotherapy (OR = 0.23, p = 0.009), the preference regarding palliative chemotherapy for incurable cancer with limited efficacy at the expense of considerable toxicity was associated positively with status under active cancer treatment (OR = 1.74, p = 0.03) and the preference of staying home at EOL was positively associated with anxiety (OR = 1.72, p = 0.04). CONCLUSION(S): This study elucidated preferences regarding EOL care among Japanese AYA cancer population. These findings may help health care practitioners to have better understanding of preferences regarding EOL care among this population. Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Hirano H; Shimizu C; Kawachi A; Ozawa M; Higuchi A; Yoshida S; Shimizu K; Tatara R; Horibe K
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
2019
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.04.033" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.04.033</a>
Child Death And Deterioration Review Group
Child Death; Deterioration; Adoption; Adverse Drug Reaction; Case Study; Cause Of Death; Child; Clinical Article; Controlled Study; Female; Health Care Quality; Human; Learning; Male; Nursing Staff; Palliative Therapy; Perception; Side Effect; Student; Trust
Background In order to improve outcomes for acutely unwell children and young people it is essential to learn from those cases in which children deteriorate and die. In our trust there was no universal record of child deaths or deteriorations and no over view of cases to identify learning, either positive or developmental. Aims The child death and deterioration (CDAD) review group was formed to enable a rapid multi-disciplinary timely review of every child death and unplanned PICU admissions. It allows concerns related to the care or cause of death to be identified, identifies need for more detailed reviews, investigation of adverse events and noting of good practice. Methods Group includes senior doctors and nursing staff, palliative care and risk team. Weekly meetings review cases from the preceding week. Cases are allocated 15 min and the patient's team (ideally medical and nursing) presents. Trainees are encouraged to attend. Cases are discussed, actions generated and graded 1-6 according to standard of care given. We also gather parent/patient feedback regarding unplanned PICU admissions to help provide insight into the perception they have of care provided. Results/measures Over the first year of CDAD, 38 child deaths and 138 unplanned PICU admissions have been reviewed. Various data including demographics, clinical area admitted from, involvement of outreach and palliative care teams, cause of death/deterioration and clinical grading are available (see figures 1-4). Multiple lessons of positive and negative practices as well as action plans are collated and fed back via care groups QuEST (M and M type) meeting. Favourable event reporting forms are completed for individuals and teams who have delivered excellent care. Lessons for practice Good discussion between professional groups and different specialities occurs including consideration of number areas of non technical elements. This has identified system, human interaction, equipment, environment and personal factors (including knowledge) that can be improved as well as a number of areas of good practice for spread and adoption.
Alderton M; Pryde K
Archives Of Disease In Childhood
2017
Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
10.1136/archdischild-2017-313087.20