Publications by authors named "L Michal Skarf"
Article Synopsis
- Guidelines for treating patients with calciphylaxis on renal replacement therapy are insufficient, resulting in challenges in their optimal treatment.
- A 60-year-old male veteran on hemodialysis faced severe calciphylaxis-related pain and complications from chronic conditions, ultimately leading to his transfer to a specialized treatment center.
- Despite available therapies, the interplay of complex pain, trauma history, and the patient's severe health issues contributed to a high rate of suffering and mortality, highlighting the need for improved care strategies in this group.
Background: The Coordinated Transitional Care (CTraC) program is a telephone-based, nurse-driven program shown to decrease readmissions. The aim of this project was to implement and evaluate an adapted version of CTraC, Supportive CTraC, to improve the quality of transitional and end-of-life care for veterans with serious illness.
Methods: We used the Replicating Effective Programs framework to guide adaptation and implementation.
Individuals with cancer experience a host of symptoms, especially when the malignancy is advanced. Pain occurs from the cancer itself or related treatments. Undertreated pain contributes to patient suffering and lack of engagement in cancer-directed therapies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Hospice and palliative care were originally implemented for patients dying of cancer, both of which continue to be underused in patients with heart failure (HF). The objective of this study was to understand the unique challenges faced by patients dying of HF compared with cancer.
Methods: We assessed differences in demographics, health status, and financial burden between patients dying of HF and cancer from the Health and Retirement Study.