La importancia de la comunidad y el voluntariado en un estado de pandemia / The role of community and volunteering in a state of pandemic

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The role of paracetamol and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in addition to WHO Step III opioids in the control of pain in advanced cancer. A systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and paracetamol are used widely in the management of mild to moderate cancer pain and are frequently combined with opioids in the treatment of moderate to severe pain. AIM: To perform a systematic literature review of the evidence of the efficacy and toxicity of NSAIDs or paracetamol added to WHO Step III opioid treatment for cancer pain. DESIGN AND DATA SOURCES: A systematic literature review of MedLine, EMBASE and Cochrane Central register of controlled trials database was carried out using both text words and MeSH/EMTREE terms. RESULTS: Seven eligible papers were retrieved from the new search and five from the Cochrane review. Five of seven studies showed an additive effect of NSAIDs when combined with opioids either by improving analgesia (three studies) or by reducing the opioid dose (two studies). Paracetamol was only marginally effective in one of five trials. The study designs were not adequate to assess differences in side effects between the opioids alone and opioids in combination with NSAIDs or paracetamol. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence from the available clinical trials is of limited amount and quality, but it weakly supports the proposal that the addition of an NSAIDs to WHO Step III opioids can improve analgesia or reduce opioid dose requirement. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of paracetamol in combination with Step III opioids. Data on the toxicity of NSAIDs in this indication are insufficient owing to the small number of patients and the short duration of treatment reported in the studies.

Clinical use of oral laxatives in palliative care services in Spain.

OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed at evaluating the clinical use of laxatives in palliative care treatment, their overall effectiveness, and their relationship to opioid treatment. POPULATION AND METHOD: A cross-sectional prospective study on patients attended by 21 palliative care teams on two pre-determined dates was carried out. The variables analyzed were demographic data, underlying disease, functional status, laxative use, use of enemas, concomitant opioid medication, and bowel movements. RESULTS: Of the 283 patients studied, 54 (19%) have had three or fewer bowel movements per week in the 3 weeks prior to the study, 53 patients (19%) were using rectal measures, 177 patients (63%) were being treated with opioids, and 164 patients (58%) were taking laxatives. Sixty seven percent (119/177) of the patients being treated with opioids were also being treated with laxatives, as were 43% (45/106) of those not receiving opioid treatment. The laxative most used was lactulose (65%). Only 10% used the most recommended combination of an osmotic or softener laxative mixed with another stimulant laxative. Some 24% of patients used enemas or micro enemas in addition to laxatives, 14 patients treated their constipation without laxatives, using only rectal measures. CONCLUSION: The clinical practice of the use of oral laxatives in palliative care in our environment differs widely from that recommended in the literature. Further studies are required to confirm if a revision of clinical guidelines are required.

Screening for constipation in palliative care patients.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to establish screening criteria for constipation in palliative care and, subsequently, to determine data for diagnostic suspicion of constipation in a palliative care population. Also we investigate the incidence of fecal impaction in the same sample of palliative care patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive, multicenter cross-sectional study was done. All patients in active care by a group of hospital and home palliative care teams were studied. A questionnaire on signs (frequency and consistency of stools) and symptoms (pain, discomfort, or a sensation of incomplete evacuation when having a bowel movement) of constipation in last weeks, and a verbal numerical scale (VNS) (0-10) on discomfort or difficulty with constipation was completed by the patients. The patients were asked about impaction in the last 3 months. RESULTS: One hundred twenty patients from 21 palliative care teams were included; the majority of patients received opiates (66%) and also laxatives (60%). Bowel movement rate less than three stools per week was found in 13% of patients, stools harder than normal were experienced in 24% patients, and 33% exhibited pain, discomfort, or sensation of incomplete evacuation. Of the patients studied 13% had some signs of habitual constipation but they did not complain of symptoms, others (17%) had some discomfort in spite of not having signs of constipation. As screening criteria for constipation in palliative care we elected to include indistinct presence of constipation symptoms or constipation signs in recent weeks. A diagnosis of suspicion of constipation was established in almost 1 of 2 patients (48%) of our palliative care population. VNS with cutoff point of 3 or more of 10, showed a sensitivity of 0.70 and a specificity of 0.74 and positive predictive value (PPV) of 73% positive and negative predictive value (NPV) of 70%. In addition to these findings a considerable number of our palliative care patients (20%) reported episodes of fecal impaction in the last 3 months. CONCLUSION: The screening for constipation in palliative care should be performed exploring subjective symptoms and other objective signs. A diagnosis of suspected constipation was found in almost half of the palliative care patients studied. A VNS of constipation did not produce good predictive values for the detection of constipation in our sample.