Cancer patients are often not sufficiently oriented to manage side effects at home. Sending text messages with self-care guidelines aimed managing side effects is the main objective of this randomized controlled trial. Patients who started outpatient chemotherapy treatment between March and December 2017 at a hospital in southern Brazil were invited to participate in this study and were allocated to the intervention or control group (ratio 1: 1). Each patient in the intervention group received a daily SMS (short message service) with some guidance on management or prevention of side effects. All text messages were sent to the intervention group patients in an automated and tailored way by our app called cHEmotHErApp. Side effects experienced by patients were verified using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 (EORTC QLQ-C30). Results showed intervention group patients experienced fewer side effects compared to the control group in cycle 1 (p < 0.05), in general. In addition, intervention group experienced less nausea in relation to the control group, in the cycle 1 and cycle 2 (p < 0.05). This study indicate text messaging may be a tool for supporting side effect management in patients receiving chemotherapy. This study was enrolled in ClinicalTrials.gov with the identification number NCT03087422. This research was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Cancer treatment is an extremely stressful life experience that is accompanied by a range of psychological, social, physical, and practical difficulties. Cancer patients need to receive information that helps them to better understand the disease, assists them in decision-making, and helps them deal with treatment. Patients are interested in receiving such information. The degree of satisfaction with the information received has been associated with positive health outcomes, specifically regarding quality of life, severity of side effects, and psychological well-being. This study investigates a method of guiding cancer patients, in relation to outpatient chemotherapy treatment, using SMS (short message service) text messaging. A smartphone application called cHEmotHErApp was developed, and its primary function is to send out SMS text messages with guidance for self-care and emotional support for oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy. Thus, the main objective of this study is to evaluate the acceptance and perception of patients of the receipt of these SMS messages, as well as to evaluate the possible benefits reported by the participants. Adult patients diagnosed with cancer, who started the first outpatient chemotherapy treatment scheme between August and November 2016 at the School Hospital (HE) of the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel), were invited to participate in this pilot study. In total, 14 cancer patients were adherent to this study. Each of these patients received a daily text message on their cell phone with some guidance on encouraging self-care and emotional support. Patients reported that, because of the SMS text messages they received, they felt more confident in their treatment, felt more supported and encouraged, and that the text messages facilitated self-care. In addition, patients reported that the SMS text messages they received helped them to take better care of themselves and to continue further treatment.

Objective: to identify and map the definitions for palliative care, end of life, and terminally ill in the oncology literature. Materials and method: scoping review guided by Joanna Brigs Institute recommendations. We analyzed original articles, published between 2012 and 2017, indexed in the databases Pubmed, Web of Science and Scopus. The data collection resulted in 51 articles selected for analysis. Also, we have consulted the websites of 25 palliative care societies from countries best ranked in The Economist’s Quality of Death Ranking. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, and summary of the themes, in this case the definitions. Results: terminally ill is a disease with a prognosis of lifetime ranging between hours and months, there is clinical worsening, functional decline, and presence of metastases. Palliative care aims to promote quality of life and dignity. End of life is the period of up to 12 months before death. Conclusions: we constructed synthesis and definitions for the concepts investigated. Thus, it was possible to contribute to the adoption of a standardized language in care and investigations with cancer patients in end-of-life

Este artigo tem por objetivo relatar atividades extensionistas desenvolvidas junto a uma Equipe de Consultoria em Cuidados Paliativos (ECCP) entre 2018 e 2019. Destaca-se a organização, dinâmica de avaliação e atenção às pessoas em cuidados paliativos (CP) hospitalizadas e suas famílias pela ECCP e estudantes de graduação em enfermagem em articulação com profissionais diretamente responsáveis pela assistência em unidades de internação de um Hospital de Ensino do Sul do Brasil. Por serem enfermeiros os profissionais mais vinculados ao cuidado, seja por suas atividades ou pelo tempo que permanecem com os indivíduos, é fundamental a educação destes sobre o morrer e a morte desde a graduação. Conclui-se que ECCP em instituições hospitalares pode melhorar a qualidade do cuidado prestado às pessoas com doenças que ameaçam à vida e suas famílias, por meio da educação permanente de profissionais saúde e da aproximação de estudantes com as especificidades deste cenário.

Objetivo: caracterizar o perfil clínico e sociodemográfico de adultos hospitalizados e acompanhados por equipe de consultoria em cuidados paliativos. Método: estudo quantitativo, descritivo, do tipo retrospectivo. A amostra foi constituída por 53 pacientes acompanhados, entre outubro de 2018 e dezembro de 2019, por equipe de um hospital do Sul do Brasil e por um projeto de extensão. Os dados foram extraídos dos instrumentos de avaliação do projeto e organizados no programa Microsoft Excel. A análise se deu por meio de estatística descritiva. Resultados: identificou-se baixo nível de escolaridade e renda. A neoplasia de pulmão foi o diagnóstico mais frequente, relacionado ao tabagismo, hábito prevalente. Dor foi a principal queixa. Cansaço, bem-estar, sono, ansiedade e depressão foram pior autoavaliados. Opioides foram mais prescritos para o controle da dor, entretanto não estiveram em igual proporção os laxativos. Quanto ao uso de dispositivos de saúde, os respiratórios predominaram. O óbito foi o principal desfecho. Conclusão: o perfil sociodemográfico deve ser identificado pelas equipes e considerado no planejamento da alta hospitalar em cuidados paliativos. Sintomas físicos pareceram melhor controlados, sobressaindo-se para tal o uso de medidas farmacológicas. Sintomas psíquicos e relacionados ao conforto merecem avaliação abrangente e intervenções mais específicas das equipes de saúde.