0000000000154493
AUTHOR
Vincenza Manuela Spedale
Emergencies in patients with advanced cancer followed at home.
Abstract CONTEXT: Patients with advanced cancer stay at home for most of their time, and acute problems may occur during home care. Caregivers may call medical services for an emergency, which can result in patients being admitted to the hospital. No data exist on emergencies in patients followed by a home care team. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this multicenter prospective study was to assess the frequency, reasons for, and subsequent course of emergency calls for patients followed at home by a palliative care team. METHODS: A consecutive sample of patients admitted to home care programs was surveyed for a period of seven months. Epidemiological data, and characteristics of emergency calls and o…
Methadone versus morphine for postoperative pain in patients undergoing surgery for gynecological cancer: A randomized controlled clinical trial.
Abstract Study objective The aim of this study was to compare methadone and morphine for the management of postoperative. Design Open, controlled study. Setting Postoperative recovering area, ward. Patients Sixty-four patients, ASA I-III, undergoing gynecological surgery for cancer. Interventions Morphine or methadone 0.15 mg/kg given preoperatively. After operation an intravenous morphine or intravenous methadone infusion at doses of 12 mg/day was started. Measurements Pain intensity and opioid consumption. Main results Methadone infusion provided a better analgesia in comparison with morphine infusion on the second day. Opioid consumption was significantly lower in the methadone group. No…