Selected items from the News and Latest Additions sections of www.palliativedrugs.com, the world’s leading palliative care website. Asthma guideline 2011 revision The 2011 revision of the British Thoracic Society (BTS) and Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) management of asthma guideline is now available. There are updates to monitoring patients with asthma (section 2.6) and its […]
Latest articles
New prognostic model can predict survival in palliative care patients with advanced cancer
In a research paper published in the BMJ (25 August), UK researchers found that a cancer survival scale based on readily available clinical and laboratory variables, can reliably predict how long a cancer patient in palliative care will live. The research paper shows the development of two prognostic models, both of which are able to […]
Uganda urged to consider palliative care ‘an urgent humanitarian need’
With more than 200,000 Ugandans in need of palliative care and only 10 percent currently receiving it, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised an urgent increase in access to palliative care services for patients with life-threatening infections. WHO advisor on HIV/AIDS, Dr Innocent Nuwagira, speaking on behalf of the country representative Dr Joachim Saweka, […]
New deal needed for UK patients at end of life
In a report published this week, the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) calls for more open discussion on dying and death and greater accountability when end of life care falls below acceptable standards. ‘No Dress Rehearsals’, examines how end of life care is measuring up three years on from the publication of the government’s […]
SHORT CUTS
Articles of interest in other scholarly journals Click on the article headings to view abstracts Gender differences in prevalence of depression among patients receiving palliative care: the role of dependency Hayes RD, Lee W, Rayner L, et al. Palliat Med 2011. [Epub ahead of print] In the community, depression is more common in women than […]
Workshop urges African women to tackle the issue of pain associated with HIV and Aids
Research into pain associated with specific illnesses shows that the pain related to HIV and AIDS is even more severe than that associated with cancer, and yet AIDS is generally not acknowledged or managed as a painful disease. At an Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA)-funded workshop presented by Dr Natalya Dinat of the […]
First palliative care law introduced to New York
New York has passed a new bill which outlines in simple terms the specific standards for doctors and nurse practitioners caring for terminally ill patients. The Palliative Care Information Act (PCIA) states that when a disease has advanced to the terminal stage and a patient is unlikely to survive six months, doctors must offer to […]
Palliative care more readily available to US patients than ever before
A report released by the Center to Advance Palliative Care, in conjunction with the National Palliative Care Research Center (NPCRC), shows promising growth in palliative care services in US hospitals. The analysis confirmed that hospital-based palliative care teams have doubled since 2000 and now as many as 63 percent of US hospitals (with more than […]
NICE consults on draft quality standard on end of life care
NICE is developing Quality Standards – a set of qualitative statements and quantitative measurements that act as a final distillation of clinical best practice – and is now requesting comments on 20 quality statements on end of life care. The aim of the standards is to clarify what high quality care looks like in relation to […]
Andrew Lansley announced as keynote speaker at ‘Widening Horizons’ conference
Secretary of state for health, Andrew Lansley, will deliver the keynote address at the Help the Hospices conference ‘Widening Horizons’ on 26 September 2011. Andrew Lansley’s appearance comes at a pivotal time for the sector, and acknowledges both his support and recognition of the hospice sector to date. To register, or for more information about […]