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Objectives: We compared cancer patients who were discharged home from inpatients hospices (Home), and who died at hospices (PCU) as a comparison group regarding patients’ quality of life, to clarify the patients’ experience after discharge home. Methods: We send self-reported questionnaires to bereaved families of cancer patients who were discharged home from 12 Japanese nation-wide hospices and died without readmission to the hospicies during Janually 2010 and August 2014. We used bereaved families’ data of patients who died at the same hospices during the same period of J-HOPE3 study. Results: We sent 495 questionnaires (returned 47.3%) and analyzed data of 188 as Home. The data of 759 bereaved families of J-HOPE3 study were also analyzed as PCU. In Good Death Inventory, Home was associated with higher score on some items (staying at favorite place, having pleasure, staying with families and friends, being valued as a person), and PCU was associated with higher score on being free from pain or other physical distress. Conclusions: Patients who were discharged home from inpatient hospices had good environmental QOL, but hospices may be better in palliation of symptoms.
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Introduction: Antiepileptic drugs were occasionally administered to manage seizures in terminally-ill cancer patients. When enteral route is no longer feasible due to dysphagia or depressed level of consciousness, subcutaneous route could be an option. We reported three cases of terminally cancer patients who received subcutaneous levetiracetam (LEV) due to an inability to administer via intravenous route. Cases: The age of 3 cases was 83, 75, 82 years, respectively. In all cases, the prognosis prediction at the start of subcutaneous LEV was about 1 month. In all cases, the route of administration of LEV was changed from intravenous to subcutaneous. No exacerbation of convulsions, or injection site reaction was confirmed after subcutaneous LEV administration. Discussion: We believe that subcutaneous LEV administration may be one of the treatment options for seizures in patients with terminal cancer for whom intravenous administration of LEV is no longer feasible.
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Introduction: Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) is a rare disease entity of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Patients with IVLBCL frequently have neurological symptoms associated with cerebrovascular infarction or central nervous system involvement of malignant lymphoma. Case: A 67-year-old man consulted the Department of Hematology at our hospital because of fever of unknown origin, anemia and increased serum lactate dehydrogenase. Although IVLBCL was strongly suspected, no lymphoma cells were found by multiple bone marrow aspirations and skin biopsies. Two months later, he developed hyperactive delirium, which was difficult to manage using antipsychotic agents. Brain MRI revealed multiple hyper-intense infarct-like lesions on diffusion-weighted images. After assessment of bone marrow aspiration and skin biopsies, he was administered an enough dose of prednisolone to manage malignant lymphoma. Hyperactive delirium rapidly improved. Discussion: In patients with IVLBCL, corticosteroids may be useful to manage hyperactive delirium due to cerebrovascular infarction or central nervous system involvement of IVLBCL.
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Introduction: Our palliative care staff began the support activity in opioid introduction for outpatients with cancer at Komaki City Hospital in March 2018, because it was difficult to make them understand about proper use of opioid analgesics and misinterpretation about abuse at the time of opioid introduction in outpatient settings. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the activity (patient education on pain control, telephone follow up, and assessment of the symptom). Method: Outpatients with cancer receiving strong opioids for pain relief from January 2017 to March 2019 were eligible. We retrospectively investigated the difference of the variables between baseline and after the activity as follows; the ratios of prescribing immediate-release opioids, antiemetics, and laxatives when opioids were prescribed and side effects due to opioid analgesics appeared. Results: The study included 122 patients. The prescribing ratios of immediate-release opioids antiemetics and laxatives all increased from 90.7 to 98.5%, from 63.0 to 70.6%, and from 61.1 to 70.6%, respectively. The side effect incidence due to opioids with STAS-J 2 or more decreased from 12 (22.2%) to 9 (13.2%). Discussion: The activity could contribute to the provision of drug treatments and counselling needed for opioid therapy.
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Context: In addition to opioids, oxygen therapy is often administered to cancer patients suffering from dyspnea before death, but there are few reports of adverse effects of this treatment. Objectives: To clarify the frequency of adverse effects of oxygen therapy for hospitalized cancer patients before death. Methods: A retrospective study of all patients who died and were discharged from the palliative care unit in Komaki City Hospital from January 2016 to June 2018 was performed. Patients to whom oxygen therapy had already been administered at the time of admission were excluded in the study. Results: The study included 257 patients, with 195 (76%) in the oxygen therapy group (O2+). The cumulative rate of oxygen therapy was 36% seven days before death, 54% three days before death, and 76% a day before death. The adverse effects included a sense of restraint for 64 cases (31%), exacerbation of delirium for 27 cases (14%), nasal/oral hemorrhage for 25 cases (13%), dryness for 5 cases (3%), and deterioration of subjective symptoms for 4 cases (2%). Along with these effects, temporary interruption of oxygen therapy was observed in 76 cases (39%). Conclusion: Oxygen therapy was started in half of the cases within 3 days before death. The adverse events to occur frequently were feeling of restriction and exacerbation of delirium.
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Objective: This study aimed to reveal the prevalence and characteristics of anguish among delirious patients with advanced cancer receiving specialized palliative care services. Methods: We conducted a subanalysis of a multicenter, prospective, observational study at 14 inpatient palliative care units and 10 general wards that offered psycho-oncology consultation service in Japan. We consecutively enrolled the patients with advanced cancer who were diagnosed with delirium and prescribed antipsychotics. Palliative care specialists decided whether patients suffered from anguish or not. We assessed patients’ background and severity of delirium with the Delirium Rating Scale-Revised (DRS-R-98). Results: Of 818 enrolled patients, 99 (12.1%) suffered from anguish. We observed a significant difference in the mean age (68.9±12.6 vs. 72.1±11.2, p=0.009), prevalence of dementia (2% vs. 10.4%, p=0.005) between patients with anguish and those without anguish. Patients with anguish had lower DRS-R-98 total scores before medication than those without anguish (15.3±8.1 vs. 17.3±7.8, p=0.018), but higher severity score in lability of affect (1.2±0.8 vs 1.0±0.9, p=0.023). Conclusions: The results of this study suggested that patients with anguish tend to be younger, mostly do not have dementia, and have lower delirium severity score but higher score in lability of affect. Nevertheless, further research, investigating appropriate evaluations and medical interventions for patients with anguish is warranted.
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Objective: To explore the trajectories of hematologic data and palliative performance scale (PPS) scores among patients with terminal-stage cancer. Method: This was a retrospective observational study. We recruited all adult patients with solid cancer who received care from palliative care specialists and died in Komaki City Hospital between January and December 2016. Among these patients, we extracted hematologic data from the last 12 weeks and when 2 weeks passed since the last anti-cancer treatment, and PPS scores on the day of the hematologic tests. We calculated the means of weekly hematologic data and PPS scores, and explored their trajectories. Results: We recruited 204 patients (mean age, 70.9 years; women, 44.1%) and acquired 1157 hematological datasets. Albumin and C-reactive protein levels gradually decreased from 12 weeks and increased from 5 weeks, respectively, before death. White blood cell and lymphocyte counts respectively increased and decreased from 5 weeks. Creatinine and bilirubin levels rapidly increased from 3 weeks. Potassium levels increased from 1 week. PPS scores decreased from 4 weeks before death. Discussion: Deteriorations in nutrition or inflammatory status and white blood cell counts could antedate deterioration in PPS scores, and deterioration of visceral data and PPS scores could indicate prognosis on a weekly basis.
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Introduction: We report on a patient with end-stage lung cancer who developed the relatively rare condition of emphysematous cystitis. Case: A 72-year-old man was diagnosed with carcinomatous meningitis while being treated for lung cancer and bone metastasis. Anticancer therapy was terminated, and he was transferred to our palliative care unit. During the transfer, he exhibited progressively impaired consciousness and bilateral leg paralysis. Imaging studies performed to assess his medical state revealed intrathecal nodes associated with carcinomatous meningitis and emphysema in the bladder wall. Emphysematous cystitis was diagnosed. The bladder was irrigated and drained, and antibiotic therapy was administered. Although the bladder wall emphysema resolved, the patient died of progression of carcinomatous meningitis on the 10th day after transfer. Discussion: The development of emphysematous cystitis is reported to be likely in patients with underlying diseases, such as malignant tumor, diabetes mellitus, and neurogenic bladder, as well as in those with a history of steroid use. Our patient also exhibited many risk factors, including a history of steroid use and bladder and rectal disturbance due to carcinomatous meningitis, in addition to cancer. In end-stage cancer patients, the risk of developing emphysematous cystitis is expected to be higher than in normal persons because they have often used steroids for malaise, anorexia, and other conditions, and exhibit metastasis to the central nervous system, drug-induced dysuria, and other complications. Caution should be exercised in end-stage cancer patients to recognize emphysematous cystitis, which can be life-threatening in some cases.
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<p>Introduction: We experienced a case of pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis with intra-abdominal free air following steroid therapy for an end-stage brain tumor. Case: The patient was a 67-year-old man. He had received surgery and chemotherapy for the brain tumor, but the disease progressed and his consciousness deteriorated. Eventually, he developed aspiration pneumonia and was hospitalized. His consciousness level remained poor even after the pneumonia improved. His survival prognosis was considered to be approximately 1 month, and he was transferred to a palliative care ward. After the transfer, administration of betamethasone 8 mg/day was started for the purpose of improving his level of consciousness. Temporary improvement was observed, and administration of this drug was continued with dose adjustments, as appropriate. Six weeks after the start of betamethasone administration, when his consciousness level again deteriorated, aspiration began to recur. Chest X-rays, obtained to assess pneumonia, showed intra-abdominal free air. Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis was confirmed by computed tomography. He had few abdominal symptoms, and was managed conservatively. He died of respiratory failure. Conclusion: Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis is mostly secondary, and steroid therapy is considered to be one of the causes. But follow-up observation is often conservative, and judgment of discontinuation of steroid needs to be made in consideration of its effect and prognosis is there.</p>
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Ceftriaxone is one of the easily administrative antibiotics, but little is known about their role in palliative care settings. The aim of this study is to show the effect and the safety of ceftriaxone subcutaneous infusion to infection among advanced cancer patients. Consecutive patients who received ceftriaxone subcutaneous infusion at the Seirei Hospice from January 2013 to January 2014 were enrolled in this retrospective analyses. Primary outcome was the response rate of ceftriaxone, determined by improvement of symptoms within 3 days of ceftriaxone use. Secondary outcomes are inflammatory site reaction, and a comparison of the response rate between ceftriatone and other antibiotics. Among a total of 100 admitted patients, 10 patients used ceftriaxone subcutaneous infusion (4 for urinary tract infection, 4 for pneumonia, 2 for soft tissue infection). The response rate was 70% (95% confidence interval, 39－89). There was no inflammatory symptom at the insertion site observed. For comparisons, 16 patients used other antibiotics with the response rate of 74% (51－88).In conclusion, subcutaneous infusion of ceftriaxone can be useful in the treatment of infections of end－of－life cancer patients, and randomized controlled trial is promising.
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<b>Purpose and Methods</b>: Infection and neoplastic fever is one of the common complication in patients with advanced cancer. To develop a novel method to differentiate neoplastic fever from infection, we performed a retrospective study of hospitalized terminally ill cancer patients at Seirei Hospice from April 2009 to August 2011. <b>Results</b>: We identified a consecutive sample of 12 patients with neoplastic fever and 12 patients with infection as a control. We extracted demographic data, laboratory data, vital signs and symptoms from medical charts. We found significant differences in difference in C-reacive protein value between afebrile and febrile period (<i>p</i>＜0.001), difference of white blood cell count between afebrile and febrile period (<i>p</i>=0.0017), percentages in neutrophil counts (<i>p</i>=0.023), percentages in lymphocyte counts at base line (<i>p</i>=0.011) and the presence of delirium (<i>p</i>=0.012). <b>Conclusion</b>: These findings suggest that we might differentiate neoplastic fever from infection with common laboratory data and their longitudinal change.
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This study was conducted to identify the needs of patients and their families based on surveys involving patients and bereaved families, and describe the process of producing a survey-based leaflet for health care professionals.Questionnaire surveys were conducted on 550 advanced cancer patients and 632 bereaved families in Hamamatsu, and 337 and 432 responses were collected. Opinions and requests regarding cancer treatment and palliative care were analyzed, and 378 meaning units were collapsed into six categories of requests to health professionals: “Share patient and family feelings and support decisions”; “Allow the patient to stay where he/she wants”; “Relieve physical discomfort as much as possible”; “Support to complete what family members want for the patient not to regret”; “Help patient and family have hope”, and; “Reduce concerns about opioids”. A leaflet for health care professionals about what they should take into the considerations was created based on patient and family surveys.