Han'guk Hosup'isu Wanhwa Uiryo Hakhoe chi = The Korean journal of hospice and palliative care最新文献

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare differences in spiritual needs (SNs) and factors influencing SNs between patients with progressive terminal kidney disease and their family caregivers.

Methods: An explorative comparative survey was used to identify the SNs of patients (N=102) with progressive terminal kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis and their family caregivers (N=88) at a general hospital located in Seoul, South Korea. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, the independent t-test, one way analysis of variance, the Scheffé test, and multiple regression with dummy variables.

Results: The SNs among family caregivers were higher than in the patient group. SNs were higher among those who were religious in both groups. Loving others was the highest-ranked sub-dimension in the patient group, followed in descending order by maintaining positive perspective, finding meaning, Reevaluating beliefs and life, asking "why?", receiving love and spiritual support, preparing for death, and relating to God. In the family group, the corresponding order was maintaining positive perspective, loving others, finding meaning, receiving love and spiritual support, preparing for death, relating to God, and asking "why?". The factors that had a negative influence on the level of SNs were not being religious in the patient group and having only a middle school level of education in the family group.

Conclusion: The results of this study may serve as evidence that spiritual care for non-cancer patients' family caregivers should be considered as an important part of hospice and palliative care.

Purpose: This study was conducted to develop a hospice music therapist training program and to evaluate its effects.

Methods: The educational program consisted of training on the theory of hospice and the theory and practice of hospice music therapy. The course lasted for 4 weeks, with 8 hours of training per week, and 33 music therapists completed the course. In order to assess the effectiveness of the course, participants' knowledge and confidence regarding hospice music therapy and readiness for hospice music therapy before and after education were measured. The statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 18.0 and the paired t-test was used to assess the effectiveness of the program.

Results: The trainees showed significant improvements in knowledge (P<0.001) and confidence (P<0.001) in all areas of this course, as well as in readiness for hospice music therapy (P<0.001). Participants' satisfaction with the lectures was assessed using a 5-point Likert scale. The average score for all lecture areas exceeded 4 (yes), and the satisfaction level was mostly high. Students were most satisfied with the lectures on music therapy theory, followed in order by those on music therapy practice and hospice theory.

Conclusion: This hospice music therapist training program is considered to be suitable because of its positive educational effects and the high satisfaction of participants with the lectures. In order to provide high-quality music therapy services to patients and their families, this training course should be regularly offered to cultivate competent music therapists, and the content of the education should be standardized and applied in various clinical settings.

To deliver holistic and person-centered palliative care (PC), the spiritual dimension must also be assessed. However, many nurses do not screen for or assess patient spirituality. This article presents five things that PC nurses can consider in order to improve their spiritual screening and assessment practices. These points are as follows: (1) Understand that spirituality is manifest in a myriad of ways and is not the same thing as religiosity. (2) Screen for spiritual distress, and then later conduct a spiritual history or assessment. (3) Remember that spirituality is not just something to assess upon admission. (4) Know that there are many ways to assess spirituality (it is not merely how a patient verbally responds to a question about spirituality or religiosity). (5) Remember that assessment can also be therapeutic.

Purpose: D-dimer levels are known to be associated with poor outcomes in patients with various cancers, but their significance at the end of life remains unclear. This study investigated D-dimer levels as a prognostic indicator for terminal cancer patients in the last hours of life.

Methods: The retrospective study was conducted at a palliative care unit of a tertiary cancer center, using a database to analyze the records of patients treated from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2018. In total, 67 terminal cancer patients with available data on D-dimer levels were included. Patients' demographic data, clinical information, and laboratory values, including D-dimer levels, were collected. Survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. A Cox proportional-hazards model was used to identify prognostic factors of poor survival.

Results: The most common site of cancer was the lung (32.8%) and the median survival time was 5 days. Most laboratory results, particularly D-dimer levels, deviated from the normal range. Patients with high D-dimer levels had a significantly shorter survival time than those with low D-dimer levels (4 days vs. 7 days; P=0.012). In the Cox regression analysis, only a high D-dimer level was identified as a predictor of a poor prognosis (hazard ratio, 1.83; 95% confidence interval, 1.09~3.07).

Conclusion: Our results suggest that at the very end of life, D-dimer levels may serve as a prognostic factor for survival in cancer patients.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate celiac plexus neurolysis (CPN) for the treatment of cancerous upper abdominal pain in a tertiary university hospital in Korea.

Methods: At the tertiary university hospital in Korea, electronic medical records of cancer patients who underwent CPN and died in the hospital from November 2009 to June 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: The total number of subjects was 51. The 17 patients were from the Department of Gastroenterology (33.0%), followed by 11 patients from the Department of Hemato-oncology (21.6%), 11 patients from the Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (21.6%), 9 patients from the Department of General Surgery (17.6%). The diagnosis was pancreatic cancer in 15 patients (29.4%), stomach cancer in 8 patients (15.7%), hepatobiliary cancer in 20 patients (39.2%), colon cancer in 1 patient (2.0%), esophageal cancer in 2 patient (3.9%) and intra-abdominal metastasis in 5 patients (9.8%). The mean survival time after the surgery was 66.4±55.0 days. The pain intensity before and 1 week after the procedure significantly decreased, but the amounts of opioids consumed before and 1 week after the procedure were not statistically significant. Side effects occurred after the procedure including temporary localized pain in 24 patients (47.0%), hypotension in 12 (23.5%), and diarrhea in 6 (11.8%).

Conclusion: CPN is an effective and safe procedure for reducing upper abdominal pain caused by cancer, and it is necessary to perform CPN within the appropriate time by establishing a system of interdepartmental cooperation.