Literature Review

Medical marijuana patients report lasting quality of life benefits Forbes, by A.J. Herrington; 3/25/24 Medical marijuana patients report sustained improvements in quality of life, according to the results of a recently published study. ... The results showed that many of the patients experienced improvements in physical and social functioning, energy levels and emotional well-being within the first 30 days of using medical marijuana (MMJ). Patients also reported significant decreases in pain levels, fatigue and emotional limitations.

Palliative care improves quality of life for bone marrow transplant patients Duke Health News & Media, by Alexis Porter; 3/25/24 ... Researchers tested the effectiveness of an integrated palliative care intervention across diverse settings. They enrolled 360 adults undergoing bone marrow transplants at three academic medical centers, including Duke University Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and the Fred Hutch Cancer Center at the University of Washington. ... Patients receiving the palliative care intervention reported better quality of life, defined by the degree to which an individual is healthy, comfortable, and able to participate in life events. They also had lower depression, PTSD and fatigue symptoms compared to those receiving usual care. 

Meaning-making among parents of children with severe neurologic impairment in the PICU Pediatrics / PubMed; by Jori F Bogetz, Ellie Oslin, Maeve O'Donnell, Krysta S Barton, Joyce P Yi-Frazier, R Scott Watson, Abby R Rosenberg; 3/26/24 Online ahead of print Results: Parents discussed ongoing meaning-making that occurred through domains of comprehension and purpose, and themes of understanding of other people and the world around them. Subthemes focused on appreciation/acceptance, adaptability/accountability, valuing all lives, and learning/teaching about their child.

What is the FAST scale for Alzheimer's?MedicalNewsToday, by Charlotte Lillis and medically reviewed by Shilpa Amin, MD, CAQ, FAAFP; 3/25/24The Reisberg Functional Assessment Screening Tool (FAST) is a scale that doctors use to diagnose and evaluate aspects of Alzheimer’s disease. ... This article provides an overview of the FAST tool, including a breakdown of its individual stages. It also outlines what to expect from the FAST evaluation, what the scale means for hospice care, and more.

4 things nobody tells you about watching a loved one die of cancer The New York Post; by Jessica Ariel Wendroff; 3/23/24 ... “The surgery was successful. However, tests after the operation found cancer had been present,” the Princess of Wales, 42, revealed in a bombshell videotaped statement Friday. ... While the royal insisted she is “well and getting stronger every day,” other patients’ real pain begins when the cancer has spread too far and chemotherapy and radiation no longer work, so doctors stop treatment. As the daughter of a Stage 4 bladder cancer patient, I’ve empirically learned four realities that people usually don’t talk about ...

"A strong reason why I enjoy coming to work": Clinician acceptability of a palliative and supportive care intervention (PACT) for older adults with acute myeloid leukemia and their care partners Journal of Geriatric Oncology; by Ayomide Okanlawon Bankole, Natasha Renee Burse, Victoria Crowder, Ya-Ning Chan, Rachel Hirschey, Ahrang Jung, Kelly R Tan, Susan Coppola, Mackenzi Pergolotti, Daniel R Richardson, Ashley Leak Bryant; 3/20/24 Introduction: ... In this study, we examined clinician acceptability of a NIH-funded interdisciplinary PAlliative and Supportive Care inTervention (PACT) for older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and their care partners that transcends both inpatient and outpatient settings. Results: ... Five themes were identified in the thematic analysis: (1) Emotions and affect towards the intervention, (2) Intervention coherence and self-efficacy, (3) Barriers, burden, and opportunity costs of delivering the intervention, (4) Usefulness and effectiveness of the intervention, and (5) Recommendations to improve intervention delivery.

Physicians often shy away from preparing their patients to dieToday'sHospitalist, by Colleen Poggenburg, MD, MS; 3/22/24 There's beauty in death if we can tolerate looking. ... The beauty in death is the reflections that occur in the weeks, days and minutes prior to it, which together make up a summary of someone’s life. Why then do physicians view this time-honored decline as a series of clustered medical problems, when it really is just someone moving toward death? Are we so concerned about treating just one more condition, and do we actually think it will solve the growing list of medical problems that dying patients have? ... I compared dying to pregnancy to “soften” the description of this decline. Here’s how I see that comparison: ...Editor's Note: The author offers a fascinating, meaningful comparison of physician/patient conversations with someone who is pregant versus someone who is dying. I encourage you to share this article with your clinical leaders (and adapt it for staff), as this model beautifully reframes important conversations that can empower patients and their families.

Student-run Arizona non-profit uses origami to connect with hospital [and hospice] patients The State Press, by Pippa Fung; 3/19/24The Wishing Crane Project, founded by Arizona student Charles Zhang, serves hospice and hospital patients through art. In the story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, a young girl tried to fold 1,000 paper cranes in the hopes that it would help her push through a terminal illness. Years later, students across Arizona and at ASU are folding their own cranes [and writing hopeful messages] to support others through their difficult journeys. 

Frailty needs to be a factor in drug development, proposed guidelines suggest McKnights Long-Term Care News, by Kristen Fischer; 3/20/24A new report on strategies for geriatric drug development and assessment determined that drugs need to consider age as well as other factors that older adults face such as cognitive impairment, frailty and polypharmacy. This is according to the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) Geriatric Committee, which published the report. The strategies specifically focused on integrating frailty as a factor in drug development. The report, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society earlier this month, includes 12 principles pertaining to frailty in reference to drug development. The recommendations include measuring frailty at the start of when a person goes on a drug they’ll likely take regularly.

Music Therapy intervention to reduce symptom burden in hospice patients: A descriptive study American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care; by Madison H Estell, Kevin J Whitford, Angela M Ulrich, Brianna E Larsen, Christina Wood, Maureen L Bigelow, Travis J Dockter, Kimberly L Schoonover, Amy J Stelpflug, Jacob J Strand, Monica P Walton, Maria I Lapid; 3/19/24 online ahead of printResults: Patients reported a reduction in symptom severity and emotional distress and an increase in QOL. All patients endorsed satisfaction with music therapy, describing it as particularly beneficial for stress relief, relaxation, spiritual support, emotional support, and well-being. Scores on overall QOL and stress were worse for caregivers. 

Health care utilization and opioid use in patients receiving an integrated palliative care intervention for treatment of head and neck cancer compared to a historical control Elsevier, International Journal of Radiation; by F. Rizwan. C. D'Avella, M. Albert, T. King, B. Egleston, T.J. Galloway, M. Chwistek, C. Fang, A. El-jawahri, J.R. Bauman; online access for 4/1/24 release Patients receiving chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for head and neck cancer (HNC) can develop significant symptomology (odynophagia, malnutrition) resulting in frequent hospitalizations and decreased quality of life (QOL) and continue to have chronic symptoms such as dysphagia and/or pain. The integration of a palliative care (PC) team during CRT has the potential to address the high symptom burden and improve QOL.

Improvements in Interdisciplinary Communication Following the implementation of a standardized Handoff Curriculum: SAFETIPS (Statistics, Assessment, Focused Plan, Pertinent Exam findings, to Dos, If/Thens, Pointers/Pitfalls, and Severity of Illness) Cureus, by Shaefali Shandilya and Justen M. Aprile; 3/18/24 Handoffs between medical providers serve a crucial patient safety function. While most published literature on the topic studies the handover process among physicians, robust literature is available on interdisciplinary medical communication. Little is known about the downstream effects of effective physician handover on subsequent physician and nursing interactions. ...Results: Statistical analysis revealed significant post-intervention mean score increases of one full point in four categories, namely organization and efficiency, communication, content, and clinical judgment.