[Pharmacists as part of an outpatient palliative care team].

Pharmacists are an integral factor in palliative medical care, especially in the context of specialised outpatient palliative care (in Germany „SAPV“). As part of a multi professional team, pharmacists take care of patients especially in complex supply situations. The drug therapy is always checked for side-effects and interactions, and the medication is adjusted to application methods which are still possible (e.

[Care of terminally ill patients and palliative sedation].

Caring of very sick and dying people at home during their last phase in life presents a maximum challenge for patients, their family, relatives and the palliative care team. Dying stages occur differently in each patient and the palliative care team must react accordingly. Despite all monitoring and sufficient treatment for the patient, symptoms can create a highly stressful situation.

[Outpatient palliative care – a multiprofessional challenge].

Life-threatening illness and the dying of a person presents a complex and particularly burdensome challenge for the person affected as well as for their relatives. This also applies to the professionals involved in caring and supporting the terminally ill patient. For this reason, palliative care has become a pioneer of a networked multi-professional and multi-perspective thinking and acting.

Drug interactions in dying patients: a retrospective analysis of hospice inpatients in Germany.

Background: Patients at the end of life often receive numerous medications for symptom management. In contrast to all other clinical situations, the aim of pharmacotherapy is strictly focused on quality of life.

Objective: The primary aims of this study were to assess the potential for drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in patients at the very end of life by identifying drug combinations and risk factors associated with a high risk of DDIs; and evaluate the clinical relevance of the potential DDIs in this unique patient population.

Drug interactions in palliative care--it's more than cytochrome P450.

Objective: This study aims to identify the combination of substances with high potential for drug interactions in a palliative care setting and to provide concise recommendations for physicians.

Methods: We used a retrospective systematic chart analysis of 200 consecutive inpatients. The recently developed and internationally advocated classification system OpeRational ClAssification of Drug Interactions was applied using the national database of the Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists.