Organisation and management of multi-professional care for cancer patients at end-of-life: state-of-the-art from a survey to community and hospital-based professionals.

Providing timely and satisficing End-of-Life care (EOLC) is a priority for healthcare systems since aging population and chronic diseases are boosting the global demand for care at end-of-life (EOL). In OECD countries the access to EOLC is insufficient. In Italy, the average rate of cancer patients assisted by the palliative care (PC) network at EOL was 28% in 2021, with high variability in the country.

Unmet needs in end-of-life care for heart failure patients.

Objective: To investigate end-of-life (EoL) care for heart failure (HF) in Tuscany (Italy) from healthcare professionals' perspective and identify areas for intervention.

Methods: All the directors of Cardiology units (n = 29) and palliative care (PC) units (n = 14) in Tuscany were surveyed on the practices of EoL care.

Results: Forty-five percent of cardiologists reported that their hospital had some EoL care services for HF patients.

The Italian Questionnaire for Cancer Breakthrough Pain Diagnosis, a Multicenter Validation Study.

Introduction: The literature lacks formally validated and reliable tools for the diagnosis of breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP). The Italian Questionnaire for BTcP diagnosis (IQ-BTP) is an 11-item questionnaire aimed at detecting potential-BTP and classifying it into three likelihood classes: high, intermediate, and low.

Methods: A multicenter, prospective, and observational study was designed to validate the IQ-BTP.

Pain treatment with high-dose, controlled-release oxycodone: an Italian perspective.

Objective: To investigate the possible role and tolerability of high-dose (>160 mg/day) oxycodone controlled release (CR) for the treatment of cancer and non-cancer pain.

Design: 227 patients with cancer or non-cancer pain were enrolled in an open-label, multi-center, Italian study in order to assess the adequacy of their existing pain management (using a numerical rating scale [NRS]) and the possible benefit high-dose oxycodone CR may offer patients experiencing uncontrolled pain.

Results: Pain was poorly controlled at baseline, with only 18.