Palliative care and COVID-19 in the Australian context: a review of patients with COVID-19 referred to palliative care.

Objective Palliative care has played a key role in the response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Australia. This review of consecutive patients with COVID-19 referred to the palliative care consultancy service of a tertiary health service in Melbourne describes the palliative care experience with COVID-19 in Australia. Methods The experiences of 55 patients (median age 86 years; interquartile range (IQR) 81-90 years; 55% male; median Charlson comorbidity score 6 (IQR 5-8); 85% with Australia-modified Karnofsky Performance Status ≤50; 67% from residential aged care facilities) were reviewed to collect relevant data points. Results Most patients were referred for end-of-life care with symptoms including dyspnoea (80%) and agitation/delirium (60%). Continuous subcutaneous infusions were commenced in 71% of patients, with the most frequent medications being opioids and benzodiazepines in relatively small doses; 81% required ≤20 mg subcutaneous morphine equivalent and 64% required ≤10 mg subcutaneous midazolam over 24 h. Fifty patients (91%) died in hospital and the median time from palliative care referral to death was 3 days (IQR 1-5 days). Five patients were discharged back to residential aged care facilities. Overall, 80% of referrals were from the aged care team. Conclusion Our patients had similar demographics, symptoms, medication needs and outcomes to patients in similar settings overseas. We found the symptom management of patients with COVID-19 to be generally straightforward. However, the psychosocial needs of patients were predominant and contributed to complexity. This study highlights the need for well-integrated relationships between the palliative care consultancy service and the diverse range of key treating teams involved in the delivery of pandemic health care. What is known about the topic? Palliative care has played a key role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. There is limited research describing the Australian palliative care experience with the COVID-19 pandemic. What does this paper add? Patients with COVID-19 referred to a hospital-based palliative care consultancy service in Australia had similar demographic characteristics, symptoms, medication needs and outcomes to patients with COVID-19 referred to other palliative care services in the UK and the US. There were significant psychosocial issues affecting patients, families and staff in the context of the pandemic. What are the implications for practitioners? This study highlights the need for well-functioning working relationships between the palliative care consultancy service and other hospital teams that can be leveraged at a time of crisis, such as a pandemic, to provide optimal palliative care to patients.

Using proteomics to advance the search for potential biomarkers for preeclampsia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia (PE) is a leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although predictive multiparametric screening is being developed, it is not applicable to nulliparous women, and is not applied to low-risk women. As PE is considered a heterogenous disorder, it is unlikely that any single multiparametric screening protocol containing a small group of biomarkers could have the required accuracy to predict all PE subgroups. Given the etiology of PE is complex and not fully understood, it begs the question, whether the search for biomarkers based on the predominant view of impaired placentation involving factors predominately implicated in angiogenesis and inflammation, has been too limiting. Here we highlight the enormous potential of state-of-the-art, high-throughput proteomics, to provide a comprehensive and unbiased approach to biomarker identification. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Our literature search identified 1336 articles; after review, 45 studies with proteomic data from PE women that were eligible for inclusion. From 710 proteins with altered abundance, we identified 13 common circulating proteins, some of which had not been previously considered as prospective biomarkers of PE. An additional search of the literature for original publications testing any of the 13 common proteins using non-proteomic techniques was also undertaken. Strikingly, 9 of these common proteins had been independently evaluated in PE studies as potential biomarkers. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the potential of using high-throughput data sets, which are comprehensive and without bias, to identify a profile of proteins that may improve predictions of PE and understanding of its etiology. We bring to the attention of the medical and research communities that the strengths and advantages of using data from high-throughput studies for biomarker discovery would be increased dramatically, if first and second trimester samples were collected for proteomics, and if standardized guidelines for patient reporting and data collection were implemented.