A new palliative care consultation team at the oncology department of a university hospital: an assessment of initial efficiency and effectiveness.

Purpose: Palliative care consultation teams (PCCT) in acute hospitals have increased in number over recent years. To assess whether these teams are both efficient in their role within a palliative care centre and effective in the care that is provided for patients, we reviewed the initial activity of a new PCCT at the Oncology Department of Clínica Universidad de Navarra, a European Society for Medical Oncology-designated centre of integrated oncology and palliative care.

Methods: All patients evaluated by the PCCT over the first 3 years of its activity were included.

[Visual hallucinations and unusual pain related to hypomagnesemia in an advanced cancer patient].

Hypomagnesemia has been related to high accumulated doses of cisplatin, and its clinical presence is characterized by neuromuscular and cardiovascular alterations. We present the case of an advanced cancer patient who had received successive lines of chemotherapy and who was receiving opioid treatment for cancer pain. During his hospital stay, he experienced visual hallucinations and very intense, unexplained pain in one shoulder.

What is the best term in Spanish to express the concept of cancer-related fatigue?

Introduction: Fatigue is one of the most frequent symptoms in patients with cancer. No adequate term in Spanish has been defined to describe the English concept of fatigue.

Aim: To identify the most suitable Spanish words that define the concept of fatigue and to check psychometric characteristics.