Cancer-related post-treatment pain and its impact on treatment satisfaction with medication in women with breast cancer: a cross-sectional study from Palestine.

BACKGROUND: Pain after therapy is an important clinical problem in patients with breast cancer. Unfortunately, cancer patients have a lower quality of life due to inadequate treatment of posttreatment pain; therefore, improving medication management plans and palliative care has become one of the most important targets of cancer therapy. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the impact of posttreatment pain on medication satisfaction in patients with various stages of breast cancer in Palestine. METHODS: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted et al.-Watani Hospital and An-Najah National University Hospital in the Nablus area. Using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), the intensity and interference of pain were evaluated. In addition, patients' satisfaction with cancer management medications was measured using the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM). RESULTS: Two hundred fifty-four patients were included in this study. All were women, with a mean ± SD age of 53.1 ± 10.7 years. The median score for pain severity was 7.0. Pain in the lower extremities was the most reported location. There was a negative association between the global satisfaction domain and the presence of posttreatment pain (p < 0.001). Furthermore, significant differences and negative correlations were found between global satisfaction and posttreatment pain on the day of the interview (p = 0.001), pain medication (p < 0.001), paracetamol use (p < 0.001), and the presence of side effects (p = 0.003). There were significant negative correlations (p < 0.05) between pain severity and interference with effectiveness (r = -0.258, -0.319, respectively), side effects (r = -0.414, -0.514, respectively), convenience (r = -0.274, -0.307, respectively), and global satisfaction domain scores (r = -0.293, -0.287, respectively). Exposure to chemotherapy was the only significant positive correlation with global satisfaction (p = 0.007). The regression analysis results indicated an independent association between chemotherapy use and a higher global satisfaction score (p = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with posttreatment pain, side effects, and greater interference of pain with their functioning had lower satisfaction scores. Therefore, better management of their treatment medications, side effects, and pain medications is recommended to enhance their satisfaction and quality of life. Several aspects of palliative care should be organized to improve the patient's satisfaction and quality of life in addition to conducting longitudinal studies to evaluate the pain and satisfaction of different types of cancers.

An assessment of medical students' proficiency regarding the hazards of radiological examinations on the health of workers and patients: a cross-sectional study from Palestine.

BACKGROUND: The use of radiological examination is increasing worldwide. Since radiation exposure can result in many health hazards, medical professionals, as well as medical students, should possess adequate knowledge regarding radiation and its related hazards to protect themselves and the patients. Many studies have assessed medical students' knowledge on this topic, but never in Palestine. In this study, we aimed to examine Palestinian medical students' awareness and knowledge regarding radiological examination modalities and their risks on themselves and their patients. METHODS: This was an observational, cross-sectional, population-based study, conducted to assess the awareness of radiation exposure and its risks among Palestinian medical students. An online questionnaire was implemented on medical students at An-Najah National University. A total knowledge score that ranged from 0 to 22 was calculated for each participant, with higher scores indicating better knowledge regarding radiation doses and the related hazards. RESULTS: Two hundred eighty and seven students participated in our study, with a response rate of 71%. The average knowledge score of the participants was 10.97 ± 4.31 out of a maximum of 22 points. Male participants and participants in advanced study years achieved better knowledge scores (p-values were 0.034 and < 0.001, respectively). Perceived radiology knowledge was significantly associated with the actual knowledge score among the participants (p-value< 0.001). Receiving radiology lectures in fourth and fifth years significantly affected the participants' knowledge score (p-values were < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We found a severe lack of knowledge regarding radiation doses and related risks among medical students. Therefore, we recommend that medical schools update and supplement their curriculum regarding knowledge on radiation.

Cascade of levodopa dose and weight-related dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease (LD-WD-PD cascade).

We have studied a cohort of 220 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients for risk factors of developing new dyskinesia. Twenty-nine patients were noticed to have developed new dyskinesia at the second assessment. The dyskinetic patients received significantly higher maximum level daily dose of levodopa. These patients had lost weight during the course of the disease from 72+/-15 to 66+/-17kg, p=0.002. The dyskinetic patients received significantly higher daily dose of levodopa per kilogram body weight, 8.4+/-3.5mg/kg vs. 6.0+/-3.9mg, p=0.003. Weight-losers PD patients developed significantly more dyskinesia than non-weight losers-p=0.002. Logistic regression analysis revealed weight loss and daily levodopa dose per kilogram body weight to be the only significant factors for dyskinesia in addition to disease duration. There was a "dose response to developing dyskinesia" according to the increasing levodopa dose per kilogram body weight.