Care of terminally ill patients and palliative sedation. / Begleitung Sterbender und Stellenwert der palliativen Sedierung.

Caring of very sick and dying people at home during their last phase in life presents a maximum challenge for patients, their family, relatives and the palliative care team. Dying stages occur differently in each patient and the palliative care team must react accordingly. Despite all monitoring and sufficient treatment for the patient, symptoms can create a highly stressful situation. After careful consideration in these cases, a palliative sedation can be considered. Guidelines of German and European societies describe indications, as well as the implementation. A highly complex casuistics demonstrates possibilities and limits of palliative sedation

Outpatient palliative care ­ a multiprofessional challenge. / Eine multiprofessionelle Herausforderung.

Life-threatening illness and the dying of a person presents a complex and particularly burdensome challenge for the person affected as well as for their relatives. This also applies to the professionals involved in caring and supporting the terminally ill patient. For this reason, palliative care has become a pioneer of a networked multi-professional and multi-perspective thinking and acting. In hardly any other medical field so many different professional groups and specialized disciplines work together in such an intensive manner. The rapid supply of drugs is an essential part of the specialized outpatient palliative care concept (SAPV). This cooperation is exemplified in this article.

Pharmacists as part of an outpatient palliative care team. / Individuelle Rezepturen und Rund-um-die-Uhr-Versorgung Die Apotheke als Teil des Palliative-Care-Teams

Pharmacists are an integral factor in palliative medical care, especially in the context of specialised outpatient palliative care (in Germany "SAPV"). As part of a multi professional team, pharmacists take care of patients especially in complex supply situations. The drug therapy is always checked for side-effects and interactions, and the medication is adjusted to application methods which are still possible (e. g. subcutaneous administration or administration via gastro-intestinal probes). A 24/7 supply of urgently needed medicines needs to be ensured and clinical nutrition must be suited to the real needs of the patient. Prompt aseptic manufacturing of analgesic pumps and the supply of medical devices is a priority of regional specialised pharmacies, whilst the basic support can be provided by all pharmacies who wish to engage in this ethically demanding field.

Drug interactions in dying patients: a retrospective analysis of hospice inpatients in Germany.

BACKGROUND: Patients at the end of life often receive numerous medications for symptom management. In contrast to all other clinical situations, the aim of pharmacotherapy is strictly focused on quality of life. OBJECTIVE: The primary aims of this study were to assess the potential for drug-drug interactions (DDIs) in patients at the very end of life by identifying drug combinations and risk factors associated with a high risk of DDIs; and evaluate the clinical relevance of the potential DDIs in this unique patient population. Secondary objectives were to increase prescriber awareness and to derive a comprehensive framework for physicians to minimize DDIs in this specific setting of end-of-life care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Charts of 364 imminently dying inpatients of two hospices were reviewed retrospectively. Drugs prescribed during the last 2 weeks of life were screened for DDIs by the electronic database of the Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists, which classifies DDIs by therapeutic measures required to reduce possible adverse events according to the ORCA system (OpeRational ClAssification of Drug Interactions). RESULTS: Potential DDIs were detected in 223 patients (61%). In a multivariate analysis, polypharmacy was the major predictor for DDIs (odds ratio 1.5, 95% CI 1.4, 1.6). The drugs most commonly involved in therapeutically relevant potential DDIs were antipsychotics, antiemetics (e.g. metoclopramide, antihistamines), antidepressants, insulin, glucocorticoids, cardiovascular drugs and, in particular, NSAIDs. The most prevalent potential adverse effects were pharmacodynamically additive anticholinergic, antidopaminergic, cardiac (QT interval prolongation) and NSAID-associated toxicity (e.g. gastrointestinal, renal). CONCLUSION: In the context of end-of-life care, the clinical relevance of DDIs differs from other clinical settings. Most DDIs can be prevented if the prescribing physician considers a few therapeutic principles. Specifically, this concerns the awareness of futile and high-risk medications, as well as rational alternatives.

Drug interactions in palliative care--it's more than cytochrome P450.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify the combination of substances with high potential for drug interactions in a palliative care setting and to provide concise recommendations for physicians. METHODS: We used a retrospective systematic chart analysis of 200 consecutive inpatients. The recently developed and internationally advocated classification system OpeRational ClAssification of Drug Interactions was applied using the national database of the Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists. Charts of patients with potential for severe DDIs were examined manually for clinical relevance. RESULTS: In 151 patients (75%) a total of 631 potential drug interactions were identified. Opioids (exception: methadone), non-opioids (exception: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), benzodiazepines, proton-pump inhibitors, laxatives, co-analgesics (exception: carbamazepine) and butylscopolamine were generally safe. High potential for drug interactions included combinations of scopolamine, neuroleptics, metoclopramide, antihistamines, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, (levo-) methadone, amitriptyline, carbamazepine and diuretics. The manual analyses of records from eight patients with risk for severe drug interactions provided no indicator for clinical relevance in these specific patients. Drug interactions attributed to the cytochrome pathway played a minor role (exception: carbamazepine). CONCLUSION: Most relevant drug interactions can be expected with: (i) drugs (inter-) acting via histamine, acetylcholine or dopamine receptors; and (ii) Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Even in last hours of life the combination of substances (e.g. anticholinergics) may produce relevant drug interactions (e.g. delirium). PERSPECTIVE: Data on the potential for drug-drug interactions in palliative case is extremely scarce, but drug interactions can be limited if a few facts are considered. A synopsis of the findings of these studies is presented as concise recommendation to minimize drug interactions.