Evidence-based Palliative Care Approaches to Non-pain Physical Symptom Management in Cancer Patients

Terminological Usage Related to Dyspnea by Nursing Staff: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Survey

“…However, these terms are frequently used despite being regarded as inappropriate medical terms. In the field of nursing studies in recent years, there has been vast progress in research on 'pain' such as 'total pain' (Abernethy & Wheeler, 2008;Saunders & Baines, 1983;Tan et al, 2017), 'spiritual pain' (Hagmann et al, 2018;Hanson et al, 2017), and 'total dyspnea' (Abernethy & Wheeler, 2008;Kamal, Maguire, Wheeler, Currow, & Abernethy, 2011;Lovell, Etkind, Bajwah, Maddocks, & Higginson, 2019). In such situations, if medical staff feel 'something' which cannot be expressed by the term 'dyspnea' in many aspects of medical practice and seek alternative expressions, this may not be a situation unique to Japan.…”

“…This is not limited to our facility, but is the situation broadly in Japan that the Japan Medical Association has identified as a problem (Japan Medical Association, 2015). The background of using other terms instead of the defined term 'dyspnea' might be due to the spread of the concept of spiritual pain (Hagmann et al, 2018;Hanson et al, 2017) and the use of expressions of dyspnea with or without objective findings. However, no study has investigated the reason.…”

Management Approach for Anorexia in Palliative Care: An Integrative Literature Review

“…The most common side effects are associated with the duration of the treatment and cumulative dose: Cushing's syndrome, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, adrenal insufficiency, immunosuppression, risk of infection, and osteopenia. 14,17 ESPEN (2017) suggests that the use of corticosteroids in cancer patients should be indicated in cases of short life expectancy, especially if they have other symptoms that can also be relieved with this type of medication, such as pain or nausea, due to adverse effects with prolonged use. 17…”

“…27 Corroborating these findings, Childs and Jatoi presented, in 2019, a review of anorexia and how to manage it in cancer patients, the result of which showed that MA improves appetite in patients with advanced cancer. 4 The most common side effects common uses of MA were: increased risk of thromboembolism; being increased by concomitant chemotherapy; 28 diarrhea; adrenal insufficiency, 14 and dyspnea. 12 ESPEN Guideline brings, as a consensus, considering the use of MA to increase the appetite of cancer patients in advanced conditions, being aware of the serious side effects.…”

“…The main adverse effects of cannabinoids are drowsiness, dizziness, euphoria, 14 cognitive deceleration, 24 anxiety, fatigue, dry mouth, 12 hallucinations, and cardiovascular disorders, requiring a careful prescription because it is a drug listed as psychotropic and narcotic. 17…”