ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: The Palliative Care Outcome Scale (POS) is an easy-to-use assessment tool to evaluate the effectiveness of palliative care. There is no published literature on the use of POS as an assessment tool in Malaysia. AIM: To define the concordance in the assessment of quality of life between patients with advanced cancers and their palliative care nurses using a Malay version of the POS. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This study was conducted in the palliative care unit of the Hospital Tuanku Ja'afar Seremban, Malaysia, from February 2014 to June 2014. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We adapted and validated the English version of the 3-day recall POS into Malay and used it to define the concordance in the assessment of quality of life between patients and palliative care nurses. Forty patients with advanced stage cancers and forty palliative care nurses completed the Malay POS questionnaire. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The kappa statistical test was used to assess the agreement between patients and their palliative care nurses. RESULTS: Slight to fair concordance was found in all items, except for one item (family anxiety) where there was no agreement. CONCLUSIONS: The Malay version of the POS was well accepted and reliable as an assessment tool for evaluation of the effectiveness of palliative care in Malaysia. Slight to fair concordance was shown between the patients and their palliative care nurses, suggesting the needs for more training of the nurses.
ABSTRACT
The presence of cutaneous metastases in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHN) is rare and associated with a dismal prognosis. It is vital to distinguish these lesions from direct invasion of the skin by SCCHN or primary cutaneous malignancies as the prognosis is vastly different and so is the management. In this case report, we present four cases of cutaneous metastases and also briefly review the literature pertaining to this phenomenon.
Subject(s)
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/secondary , Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms/pathology , Laryngeal Neoplasms/pathology , Mouth Neoplasms/pathology , Skin Neoplasms/secondary , Tonsillar Neoplasms/pathology , Aged , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/therapy , Fatal Outcome , Female , Humans , Hypopharyngeal Neoplasms/therapy , Laryngeal Neoplasms/therapy , Male , Middle Aged , Mouth Neoplasms/therapy , Skin Neoplasms/therapy , Tonsillar Neoplasms/therapyABSTRACT
Tracheobronchial amyloidosis (TBA) is a rare disease. No general consensus exists with regard to its optimal treatment, resulting in a variety of modalities used to manage this condition. In this article, we present a case of TBA treated with external beam radiation therapy with encouraging results. A brief literature review of this rare ailment is also included.
