Marijuana toxicosis in 2 donkeys.

Marijuana toxicosis is typically seen by companion animal veterinarians. However, with increased marijuana availability, there is a greater potential for toxicosis in other species. Herein we describe a case of suspected marijuana toxicosis in a female and a male American Mammoth donkey, aged 8 y and 20 y, respectively, fed cannabis buds.

Delirium in advanced cancer leading to distress in patients and family caregivers.

Background: Information is limited about the experiences of delirium among patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers, which makes designing interventions to relieve delirium-related distress difficult. To better understand the experience and thus permit the design of effective interventions, we collected and analyzed data from patients with advanced cancer who had recovered from delirium and their family caregivers.

Method: Phenomenological interviews were conducted separately with 37 caregivers and 34 patients.

Characteristics of family conferences in a palliative care unit at a comprehensive cancer center.

Purpose: Family conferences are used to facilitate communication concerning end-of-life issues with patients and their families. The purpose of our study was to obtain preliminary information on the characteristics of family conferences that take place in an inpatient palliative care unit (PCU).

Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted during a 6-month period that identified 123 documented family conferences.

Clinically important improvement in the intensity of fatigue in patients with advanced cancer.

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is the most common symptom experienced by patients with cancer. Clinically important improvement in the intensity of fatigue in palliative care patients has not been well established. We reviewed the data from 3 clinical trials of fatigue in 194 patients receiving palliative care treatment.

A randomized, controlled trial of physician postures when breaking bad news to cancer patients.

Medical training teaches physicians to sit when breaking bad news, though there have been no controlled studies to support this advice. We aimed to establish cancer patients' preference for physician posture when physicians break bad news using a randomized controlled crossover trial in a department of palliative care at a large US cancer center. Referred patients were blind to the hypothesis and watched video sequences of a sitting or standing physician breaking bad news to a cancer patient and 168 of 173 participants (88 female) completed the study.

Errors in symptom intensity self-assessment by patients receiving outpatient palliative care.

Background: Patient-based symptom scores are the standard method for assessment in palliative care. There has been limited research on the frequency of errors upon using this approach. The Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) is a reliable and valid assessment tool routinely used for symptom intensity assessment in our cancer center.

Objective evaluation of physical function in patients with advanced lung cancer: a preliminary report.

Purpose: This prospective study was designed in order to compare the most common subjective measurements of physical function in patients with advanced lung cancer with an objective physical functional test (Simmonds Functional Assessment Tool [SFA]).

Patients And Methods: One hundred patients agreed to participate and complete the study before or after their outpatient medical oncology appointment. Patients underwent assessment using the Karnofsky, the Brief fatigue Inventory, The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung patients (FACT-L) and the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS).

The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System as a screening tool for depression and anxiety.

Purpose: Mood disorders are among the most important psychiatric problems in patients with cancer. However, they are frequently underdiagnosed and therefore undertreated. This may lead to difficulties with symptom control, social withdrawal, and poor quality of life.

A novel high-throughput automated chip-based nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometric method for PAMPA sample analysis.

Parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) has recently gained popularity as a novel, high-throughput assay capable of rapidly screening compounds for their permeability characteristics in early drug discovery. The analytical techniques typically used for PAMPA sample analysis are HPLC-UV, LC/MS or more recently UV-plate reader. The LC techniques, though sturdy and accurate, are often labor and time intensive and are not ideal for high-throughput.

Quantitation of midazolam in human plasma by automated chip-based infusion nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometry.

An automated chip-based infusion nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) platform was used to demonstrate reproducible quantitation of drug molecules from biological matrices. Three sample preparation strategies were explored including protein precipitation of plasma with acetonitrile, de-salting of the plasma, and a combination of protein precipitation with subsequent de-salting of the dried and reconstituted extract. The best results were obtained when fortified human plasma samples containing midazolam were precipitated with acetonitrile containing alprazolam as the internal standard (IS).