The Use of Specialist Palliative Care Services Differs in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Interstitial Lung Disease: a National Cohort Study.

Background: High symptom burden and psychosocial needs in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) warrant palliative care. We assessed the use of specialist palliative care (SPC) and its association with the use of emergency department (ED) and hospital inpatient days in COPD and ILD.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study of all Finnish decedents who died of COPD (n=1189) or ILD (n=382) in 2019.

Consensus statements on end-of-life care in ICU - A Scandinavian multidisciplinary Delphi study.

Background: End-of-life care in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is complex, requiring a balance of ethical, cultural and medical considerations while ensuring comfort and dignity for critically ill patients and their families.

Aim: We aimed to develop a set of core domains for end-of-life care at Scandinavian ICUs along with corresponding consensus statements from patients, families and multidisciplinary experts.

Methods: In a three-round Delphi study, a multidisciplinary advisory board from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark, including ICU physicians, ICU nurses, palliative care specialists and a former ICU patient and family, developed potential end-of-life care domains of interest.

Differences in the palliative care phase between patients with nonmalignant pulmonary disease and lung cancer: a retrospective study.

Background: Patients with chronic nonmalignant pulmonary disease and lung cancer both need palliative care, but palliative care services may be better adjusted to serve cancer patients. We compared the timing and clinical practice of palliative care and acute hospital usage during the last year of life in patients with nonmalignant pulmonary disease or lung cancer.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of all patients in a palliative care phase (palliative goal of care) with nonmalignant pulmonary disease or lung cancer who were treated at Tampere University Hospital, Finland, during the years 2018-2020.

Integrated palliative care visits of patients with incurable cancer in Tampere University Hospital 2018-2021-a retrospective study.

Background: Integration of palliative care has been shown to be beneficial and is therefore recommended. However, the specific methods for arranging such care remain unclear. Systematic referral and regular visits with a multi-professional palliative care team have appeared most beneficial.

Health-related quality of life measured with K-BILD is associated with survival in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) assessments and estimates of prognosis are needed for comprehensive care and planning of subsequent treatment in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We investigated HRQoL and its association with survival using a disease-specific tool in patients with IPF.

Methods: The patients were recruited from the real-life FinnishIPF study in 2015.

Palliative care patients in the emergency medical service: a retrospective cohort study from Finland.

Background: Paramedics are often involved in treating palliative care patients with difficulties regarding symptom control. They report minimal training in palliative care and find decision-making difficult. This often leads to overtreatment and unnecessary transportation to the emergency department.

Impact of Primary Tumor Location on Demographics, Resectability, Outcomes, and Quality of Life in Finnish Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients (Subgroup Analysis of the RAXO Study).

The primary tumor location (PTL) is associated with the phenotype, metastatic sites, mutations, and outcomes of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients, but this has mostly been studied according to sidedness (right vs. left sided). We studied right colon vs.

The effect of palliative outpatient units on resource use for cancer patients in Finland.

Background: As cancer incidences are increasing, the means to provide effective palliative care (PC) are called for. There is evidence, that PC may prevent futile treatment at the end of life (EOL) thus implicating that PC decreases resource use at the EOL, however, the effects of outpatient PC units remain largely unknown. We surveyed the national use of Finnish tertiary care PC units and their effects on resource use at the EOL in real-life environments.

End-of-life Decision-making Differs Between a Cancer and a Dementia Patient: Influences of the Physician's Background Factors.

Background/aim: Appropriate decision-making is essential for end-of-life (EOL) care without futile therapies. However, these decisions might vary in cases of cancer and other advanced diseases according to physicians' experience, education, and values. This study aimed to compare the decisions in EOL care of advanced cancer and dementia and the factors that influence them in medical students, general practitioners (GPs), and physicians with special competence in palliative medicine (cPM).

Palliation of Dyspnea With Mouthpiece Ventilation in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Pilot Feasibility Study.

Mouthpiece ventilation (MPV) reduces hypoventilation, but its efficacy in relieving dyspnea in patients with acute chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation (AECOPD) is unclear. To assess the feasibility of MPV in relieving dyspnea among patients with AECOPD. In this prospective single-arm pilot study, the change in dyspnea on numeric rating scale (NRS) after using MPV and side effects of the treatment were studied in 18 patients with AECOPD.

Specialist Palliative Care Consultation for Patients with Nonmalignant Pulmonary Diseases: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Few patients with chronic nonmalignant pulmonary diseases receive specialist palliative care consultation, despite their high symptom burden in end of life.

Objectives: To study palliative care decision making, survival, and hospital resource usage in patients with nonmalignant pulmonary diseases with or without a specialist palliative care consultation.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of all patients with a chronic nonmalignant pulmonary disease and a palliative care decision (palliative goal of therapy), who were treated in Tampere University Hospital, Finland, between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2020.

'I am still valuable' - A qualitative study of incurable cancer patients coping in hospice care.

Background: Knowledge of the experiences of coping in patients with incurable cancer is essential for high-quality palliative and end-of-life care.

Aim And Objective: To describe the coping experiences of patients with incurable cancer in hospice care to better develop patient-centred care.

Methods: The data for this qualitative study were collected through semi structured interviews, with patients with incurable cancer in hospice care (N = 20) and analysed with inductive content analysis.

Paramedics' experiences and educational needs when participating end-of-life care at home: A mixed method study.

Background: Paramedics face end-of-life care patients during emergency calls and more recently through planned protocols. However, paramedics experiences and educational needs concerning preplanned end-of-life care at home remain largely unknown.

Aim: To describe experiences and educational needs of the paramedics included in the end-of-life care protocol.

The effect of teaching methods in palliative care education for undergraduate nursing and medical students: a systematic review.

Palliative care should be seen as a human right and integrated into the healthcare system. Adequate palliative care education is seen as a facilitator to develop the integration of palliative care. To synthesise evidence of the effect of different teaching methods used in palliative care education to students' competences, knowledge, attitude or skills.

Endoscopic duodenal stenting is efficient, but has higher rate of reoperations than gastrojejunostomy in palliative treatment for gastric outlet obstruction.

Background: Surgical gastrojejunostomy has traditionally been the palliative treatment of choice for patients with advanced malignancies and gastric outlet obstruction syndrome. Recently, palliative endoscopic duodenal stenting has increased in popularity. We report outcomes after gastrojejunostomy and duodenal stenting when used for palliative indications.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients Treated with Curative Resection and/or Local Ablative Therapy or Systemic Therapy in the Finnish RAXO-Study.

Metastasectomy and/or local ablative therapy in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients often provide long-term survival. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data in curatively treated mCRC are limited. In the RAXO-study that evaluated repeated resectability, a multi-cross-sectional HRQoL substudy with 15D, EQ-5D-3L, QLQ-C30, and QLQ-CR29 questionnaires was conducted.

Finnish nursing students' perceptions of the development needs in palliative care education and factors influencing learning in undergraduate nursing studies - a qualitative study.

Background: Nurses have an essential role in providing high-quality palliative care to patients and their families. Hence, they require adequate palliative care education. However, there is only limited insight into how final-year nursing students perceive palliative care education in undergraduate nursing programs.

Nursing Students' Views of the Content of Palliative Care in Undergraduate Education and their Self-assessed Palliative Care Competence-A Nationwide Cross-sectional Study.

The importance of integrating palliative care (PC) education into undergraduate nursing studies has been recognized. Still, there is considerable variation in the PC education of nurses. To study the nursing students' views of the PC contents during the nursing education; students' self-assessed levels of PC competence; and whether prior education or work experience influence these views.

Palliative-care nurses' and physicians' descriptions of the competencies needed in their working units.

Background: Specialists were asked to describe the most essential palliative and end-of-life care competencies needed in their working units, in order to deepen the understanding of the phenomenon.

Aim: To describe the most essential competencies of palliative-care nurses and physicians.

Methods: The data was collected using an open-ended question in a survey sent to registered nurses (n=129) working within palliative care and to physicians (n=64) with a special competency in palliative care.

Peripheral nerve blocks in advanced cancer pain: retrospective case series.

Objectives: Patients with cancer often suffer severe pain that is not relieved with systemic analgesics and requires further treatment options. This study aims to investigate whether peripheral nerve blocks are a feasible treatment option in patients with incurable cancer who suffer from severe pain.

Methods: All patients with advanced cancer who received a peripheral nerve block for the management of pain at the Tampere University Hospital between January 2015 and December 2018 were included in this retrospective study.

Assessing Symptom Burden and Depression in Subjects With Chronic Respiratory Insufficiency.

Patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency suffer from advanced disease, but their overall symptom burden is poorly described. We evaluated the symptoms and screening of depression in subjects with chronic respiratory insufficiency by using the Edmonton symptom assessment system (ESAS). In this retrospective study, 226 subjects with chronic respiratory insufficiency answered the ESAS questionnaire measuring symptoms on a scale from 0 (no symptoms) to 10 (worst possible symptom), and the depression scale (DEPS) questionnaire, in which the cut-off point for depressive symptoms is 9.