Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com, the world’s leading palliative care website with over 30,000 members from 169 Countries.

Hot topics

Cochrane review: codeine versus placebo for cough in children

In this review the authors conclude that codeine (or its derivatives) should not be used for cough in children <12 years, because:

• there is no published RCT evidence of benefit in this age group
• children may have a greater risk of undesirable effects
• the high degree of variability in the metabolism of codeine to morphine in children, may negate a therapeutic effect or, conversely, risk opioid toxicity and respiratory depression
• the underlying aetiology should be defined, rather than the cough empirically treated.

For more information, click here.

 Cochrane review: oxycodone for neuropathic pain

A previous Cochrane review on oxycodone for neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia has been split into separate reviews and the use of oxycodone for neuropathic pain has been updated (CD010692). The authors concluded that there was very limited evidence that oxycodone (as oxycodone m/r) provides moderate benefit (30% reduction in pain) in painful diabetic neuropathy or postherpetic neuralgia. There was no evidence for other neuropathic pain conditions. For more information, click here.

 NICE- Call for evidence for End of Life Care service delivery

NICE are requesting information for the guideline they are developing on End of Life Care for adults in the last year of life, specifically, on service delivery models to:

• identify people who may be entering the last year of their life
• support people to stay in their preferred place of care (e.g. out of hours services)
• facilitate smooth transitions between care settings (e.g. discharge planning teams)
• facilitate continuity and coordination of care (e.g. multidisciplinary team working)
• reduce inappropriate/avoidable hospital admissions (e.g. community health services and telehealth)
• facilitate discharge back to the community from other settings (e.g. rapid discharge pathways).

The deadline for submission is 19 September 2016. For more information, click here.

Latest additions

PCF updated monographs summary (August 2016)

The on-line Palliative Care Formulary is being continually updated. The following monographs have been updated during August 2016 and supersede those in the print publication of the 5th edition of the Palliative Care Formulary (PCF5) and PCF5+ 2015 pdf. They can be accessed from the formulary section of the website.

Chapter 01: Quick Clinical Guide: Death rattle (noisy rattling breathing), Quick Clinical Guide: Opioid-induced constipation, Laxatives (minor change), H2-receptor antagonists (minor change)

Chapter 02: Haemostatics

Chapter 04: Antihistaminic antimuscarinic anti-emetics (minor change)

Chapter 05: Paracetamol, Morphine (minor change)

Chapter 06: Helicobacter pylori gastritis monograph discontinued

Chapter 07: Corticosteroids (minor change), Danazol, Demeclocycline, Desmopressin

Chapter 10: Skeletal muscle relaxants (minor change)

Chapter 13: Propofol

For further details of minor changes, see the individual notifications in the Latest additions section of http://www.palliativedrugs.com/latest.html.

For a full list of all the monographs updated since the print publication of PCF5, click here. Follow us on twitter @palliativedrugs for the latest updates.

Parenteral NSAIDs – Which one do you use?

Results from our survey (June-July 2016).

Prepared by Sarah Charlesworth and Andrew Wilcock