BACKGROUND Hospital palliative care consultation teams have been shown to improve care for adults with serious illness. This study examined the effect of palliative care teams on hospital costs. METHODS We analyzed administrative data from 8 hospitals with established palliative care programs for the years 2002 through 2004. Patients receiving palliative care were matched by propensity score ...

Of children needing palliative care, less than half have a malignancy. Most families will elect to care for their child at home if this is offered as a realistic option. The often protracted and unpredictable nature of the many illness trajectories encountered in paediatric palliative care requires an approach that integrates palliative care with curative care. Children bring added dimensions t...

conclusions according to the results, parents need accurate information about the health and the death of their neonates in the nicu. they also need to communicate with healthcare professionals and their babies. communication is regarded as a channel for obtaining information. therefore, the healthcare team needs to address these families’ needs and attempt to fulfill their requirements in neon...

Background: Respiratory distress is considered one of the most frequent causes of admission in the neonatal unit. Additionally, it is the leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to determine the incidence of neonatal respiratory distress and its causes, risk factors, and outcomes to have a baseline data about the magnitude of respiratory distress with a further step ...

Background: With the introduction of New South Wales Ambulance Authorised Palliative Care Plans within a metropolitan palliative care service, perspectives patients, caregivers and clinicians their understandings processes involved in completing were investigated.

Dr Lesley Colvin (Senior Lecturer in Anaesthesia, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh) discussed the challenges of pain management in patients with a history of addiction. Similar to other chronic conditions, substance misuse often follows a relapsing course. Pain is a frequently associated comorbidity. Mortality rates are high but can be reduced by successful methadone maintenance programmes, ...

BACKGROUND Palliative care for people with dementia is often sub-optimal. This is partly because of the challenging nature of dementia itself, and partly because of system failings that are particularly salient in primary care and community services. There is a need to systematize palliative care for people with dementia, to clarify where changes in practice could be made.To develop a model of ...

PURPOSE The prognosis for the majority of patients with cancer in Kenya is poor, with most patients presenting with advanced disease. In addition, many patients are unable to afford the optimal therapies required. Therefore, palliative care is an essential part of comprehensive cancer care. This study reviews the implementation of a palliative care service based at the Moi Teaching and Referral...