A Risk-Benefit Assessment of Dementia Medications: Systematic Review of the Evidence.

Background: There is no cure for dementia, and no treatments exist to halt or reverse the course of the disease. Treatments are aimed at improving cognitive and functional outcomes.

Objective: Our objective was to review the basis of pharmacological treatments for dementia and to summarize the benefits and risks of dementia treatments.

The use of very-low-dose methadone and haloperidol for pain control in the hospital setting: a preliminary report.

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the use of very-low-dose methadone with haloperidol in the acute-care setting.

Methods: We reviewed the records of 735 hospitalized patients receiving a palliative care consultation between 2011 and 2014. All patients with pain on opiates were offered conversion to methadone, 2.

Impact of more restrictive blood transfusion strategies on clinical outcomes: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

Background: There is accumulating evidence that restricting blood transfusions improves outcomes, with newer trials showing greater benefit from more restrictive strategies. We systematically evaluated the impact of various transfusion triggers on clinical outcomes.

Methods: The MEDLINE database was searched from 1966 to April 2013 to find randomized trials evaluating a restrictive hemoglobin transfusion trigger of <7 g/dL, compared with a more liberal trigger.

The use of very-low-dose methadone for palliative pain control and the prevention of opioid hyperalgesia.

Background: Opioid dose escalation may cause hyperalgesia, mediated by the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) pathway. Methadone is an atypical opioid that inhibits hyperalgesia through NMDA-blockade, especially at low doses.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of using very-low-dose methadone as the sole long-acting opioid agent in a hospice practice.