Mental disorders and the desire for death in patients receiving palliative care for cancer.

Objectives: The desire for death in terminally ill patients is associated with depression and anxiety, but not all patients who report it meet criteria for mental disorders. We examined the characteristics of subgroups of palliative cancer patients who expressed a desire for death that occurred either with or without a concurrent depressive or anxiety disorder.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Treating an established episode of delirium in palliative care: expert opinion and review of the current evidence base with recommendations for future development.

Context: Delirium is a highly prevalent complication in patients in palliative care settings, especially in the end-of-life context.

Objectives: To review the current evidence base for treating episodes of delirium in palliative care settings and propose a framework for future development.

Methods: We combined multidisciplinary input from delirium researchers and other purposely selected stakeholders at an international delirium study planning meeting.

Developing guidelines on the assessment and treatment of delirium in older adults at the end of life.

Background And Purpose: Delirium at the end of life is common and can have serious consequences on an older person's quality of life and death. In spite of the importance of detecting, diagnosing, and managing delirium at the end of life, comprehensive clinical practice guidelines (CPG) are lacking. Our objective was to develop CPG for the assessment and treatment of delirium that would be applicable to seniors receiving end-of-life care in diverse settings.

Prevalence and correlates of pain in the Canadian National Palliative Care Survey.

Background: Pain is a common problem for people with cancer who are nearing the ends of their lives.

Objective: In the present multicentre Canadian study of palliative cancer care, the prevalence of pain, its perceived severity and its correlates across a range of physical, social, psychological, and existential symptoms and concerns were examined.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 381 patients.

Prognostic acceptance and the well-being of patients receiving palliative care for cancer.

Purpose: To identify the impact of prognostic acceptance/nonacceptance on the physical, psychological, and existential well-being of patients with advanced cancer.

Patients And Methods: A Canadian multicenter prospective national survey was conducted of patients diagnosed with advanced cancer with an estimated survival duration of 6 months or less (n = 381) receiving palliative care services.

Results: Of the total number of participants, 74% reported accepting their situation and 8.

Treatment of delirium in supportive and palliative care.

Purpose Of Review: The past few years have witnessed increased research into delirium treatment and related issues, leading to better management (e.g. improved detection) and better understanding of phenomenology and pathophysiology.

Suffering with advanced cancer.

Purpose: The alleviation of suffering is a central goal of palliative care, but little research has addressed the construct of suffering as a global experience of the whole person. We inquired into the sense of suffering among patients with advanced cancer to investigate its causes and correlates.

Patients And Methods: Semistructured interviews were administered to 381 patients.

Depression and anxiety disorders in palliative cancer care.

Depression and anxiety disorders are thought to be common in palliative cancer care, but there is inconsistent evidence regarding their relevance for other aspects of quality of life. In the Canadian National Palliative Care Survey, semi-structured interviews assessing depression and anxiety disorders were administered to 381 patients who were receiving palliative care for cancer. There were 212 women and 169 men, with a median survival of 63 days.