New NICE guidelines aim to address patient concerns about the use of opioids in advanced disease.

The UK’s Institute for Clinical Excellence has released new guidelines which aim to standardize the use of opioids in advanced disease pain management. It is estimated that each year in the UK some 300,000 people are diagnosed with cancer and 900,000 have heart failure. As well as this, thousands live with long-term chronic conditions such […]

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News and updates from www.palliativedrugs.com

Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com, the world’s leading palliative care website.   Safety updates   NPSA RRR: harm from flushing of nasogastric tubes before confirmation of placement The UK National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has issued a Rapid Response Repost (RRR) following the deaths of two patients since 10 […]

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News and updates from www.palliativedrugs.com

Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com, the world’s leading palliative care website.   Hot topics   WHO guidelines for treating persistent pain in children The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a package on the pharmacological treatment of persisting pain in children with medical illnesses, which replaces the previous guidelines ‘Cancer […]

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SHORTCUTS

Articles of interest in other scholarly journals Click on the article headings to view abstracts   Discontinuation of antidepressants in people with dementia and neuropsychiatric symptoms (DESEP study): double blind, randomised, parallel group, placebo controlled trial Sverre Bergh, Geir Selbæk, Knut Engedal The effect of stopping SSRIs in patients with dementia, and neuropsychiatric symptoms (but […]

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“One can die, but cannot fall ill”– A Survey on how costs may affect choice of therapy in Singapore

An article by Song Chiek Quah of the National Cancer Centre in Singapore   Introduction Continued advances in medical care in the recent years have given some hope to patients afflicted with diseases that, in the past, have poor prognoses. However it would seem that hope comes at a price, at least within the Singaporean context. This […]

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News and updates from www.palliativedrugs.com

Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com, the world’s leading palliative care website.   Drug updates   New generic buprenorphine sublingual tablets A branded generic of buprenorphine 200microgram and 400microgram sublingual tablets (Tephine®; Sandoz) has been launched in the UK. They are indicated as a strong analgesic for the relief of […]

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Study finds US hospitals consistently under-perform when it comes to end-of-life cancer care

A study conducted by researchers at Dartmouth University has found that many late-stage cancer patients in the US are receiving unsatisfactory care, with healthcare facilities not fulfilling quality care guidelines. The team concluded that whilst cancer care has improved over recent years, over a quarter of outpatient oncology practices studied did not adhere to end-of-life quality […]

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News and updates from www.palliativedrugs.com

Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com , the world’s leading palliative care website.   Safety updates   MHRA alert for co-codamol 8/500 tablets The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a patient level recall for a batch of co-codamol 8/500 tablets (Wockhardt UK Ltd; batch code LL11701; […]

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