Evidence-Based Practice of Palliative Medicine

'The symptom management chapters are especially thorough and easy to translate into clinical decision-making, and the medical chapters present useful algorithms for clinical care. Each chapter also contains a summary of take-home points along with a useful list of references. An online version is also accessible with purchase of the book. This book combines a comprehensive yet concise approach to evidence-based palliative care. It is easy to navigate and references relevant, up-to-date data; it will be a useful tool both in the office and in the field for current palliative care practitioners.' - Bonnie Chen, MD(Harvard Medical School) Doody 5 stars!

Part I. Symptom Management Section A. Pain 1. How Should Opioids Be Started and Titrated? 2. What Principles Should Guide Opioid Dose Conversions? 3. How Is Patient-Controlled Analgesia Best Used to Control Pain? 4. Which Opioids Are Safest and Most Effective in Patients With Renal or Hepatic Failure? 5. How Should Methadone Be Started and Titrated in Opioid-Nave and Opioid-Exposed Patients? 6. What Is Neuropathic Pain and How Is It Best Managed? 7. How Are Adjuvant Medications Such as Corticosteroids and NSAIDs Used for Pain Management? 8. What Are the Approaches to Pain in Skeletal Bone Disease? 9. When and How Should Radiotherapy Be Considered for Pain Management? 10. What Principles Should Guide the Prescribing of Opioids for Noncancer Pain? 11. How Does the Opioid Epidemic Impact Palliative Medicine Practice? 12. How Does One Approach the Patient With an Opioid Use Disorder? 13. When Should Epidural or Intrathecal Medications and Pumps Be Considered for Pain Management? 14. When Should Nerve Blocks Be Used for Pain Management? Section B. Dyspnea 15. What Interventions Are Effective for Managing Dyspnea in People With Cancer? 16. What Interventions Are Effective for Managing Dyspnea in COPD? 17. What Interventions Are Effective for Managing Dyspnea in Heart Failure? Part C. Gastrointestinal 18. What Medications Are Effective in Preventing and Relieving Constipation in the Setting of Opioid Use? 19. How Should Medications Be Initiated and Titrated to Reduce Acute and Delayed Nausea and Vomiting in the Setting of Chemotherapy? 20. How Should Medications Be Initiated and Titrated to Prevent and Treat Nausea and Vomiting in Clinical Situations Unrelated to Chemotherapy? 21. What Interventions Are Effective for Relieving Acute Bowel Obstruction in Cancer and Other Conditions? Section D. Anorexia/Cachexia/Feeding Difficulties 22. What Therapies Are Effective in Improving Anorexia and Weight Loss in Cancer? 23. What Therapeutic Strategies Are Effective in Improving Anorexia and Weight Loss in Nonmalignant Disease? 24. What Is the Role of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition in Patients With Cancer and With Noncancer Illness? Section E. Psychiatric Symptoms 25. What Treatments Are Effective for Depression in Palliative Care Settings? 26. How Are Anxiety and Fear Best Treated in Patients With Serious Illness and in Those Facing the End of Life? 27. What Is the Approach to the Patient Seeking a Hastened Death? Section F. Delirium 28. What Is Delirium and How Should It Be Managed? 29. What Are Effective Pharmacological and Nonpharmacological Treatments for Delirium? G. Symptoms At the End of Life 30. How Do Symptoms Change for Patients in the Last Days/Hours of Life? Part II. Communication 31. Prognosis in Palliative Care: Estimating Prognosis in Serious Illness and Communication Strategies 32. What Are the Key Elements to Having a Conversation About Communicating Serious News and Setting Goals? 33. What Are the Elements of Advance Care Planning and What ...