Palliative care concepts in respiratory disease

Indian Guidelines on Nebulization Therapy

Inhalational therapy, today, happens to be the mainstay of treatment in obstructive airway diseases (OADs), such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and is also in the present, used in a variety of other pulmonary and even non-pulmonary disorders. Hand-held inhalation devices may often be difficult to use, particularly for children, elderly, debilitated or distressed patients. Nebulization therapy emerges as a good option in these cases besides being useful in the home care, emergency room and critical care settings. With so many advancements taking place in nebulizer technology; availability of a plethora of drug formulations for its use, and the widening scope of this therapy; medical practitioners, respiratory therapists, and other health care personnel face the challenge of choosing appropriate inhalation devices and drug formulations, besides their rational application and use in different clinical situations. Adequate maintenance of nebulizer equipment including their disinfection and storage are the other relevant issues requiring guidance. Injudicious and improper use of nebulizers and their poor maintenance can sometimes lead to serious health hazards, nosocomial infections, transmission of infection, and other adverse outcomes. Thus, it is imperative to have a proper national guideline on nebulization practices to bridge the knowledge gaps amongst various health care personnel involved in this practice. It will also serve as an educational and scientific resource for healthcare professionals, as well as promote future research by identifying neglected and ignored areas in this field. Such comprehensive guidelines on this subject have not been available in the country and the only available proper international guidelines were released in 1997 which have not been updated for a noticeably long period of over two decades, though many changes and advancements have taken place in this technology in the recent past. Much of nebulization practices in the present may not be evidence-based and even some of these, the way they are currently used, may be ineffective or even harmful. Recognizing the knowledge deficit and paucity of guidelines on the usage of nebulizers in various settings such as inpatient, out-patient, emergency room, critical care, and domiciliary use in India in a wide variety of indications to standardize nebulization practices and to address many other related issues; National College of Chest Physicians (India), commissioned a National task force consisting of eminent experts in the field of Pulmonary Medicine from different backgrounds and different parts of the country to review the available evidence from the medical literature on the scientific principles and clinical practices of nebulization therapy and to formulate evidence-based guidelines on it. The guideline is based on all possible literature that could be explored with the best available evidence and incorporating expert opinions. To support the guideline with high-quality evidence, a systematic search of the electronic databases was performed to identify the relevant studies, position papers, consensus reports, and recommendations published. Rating of the level of the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendation was done using the GRADE system. Six topics were identified, each given to one group of experts comprising of advisors, chairpersons, convenor and members, and such six groups (A-F) were formed and the consensus recommendations of each group was included as a section in the guidelines (Sections I to VI). The topics included were: A. Introduction, basic principles and technical aspects of nebulization, types of equipment, their choice, use, and maintenance B. Nebulization therapy in obstructive airway diseases C. Nebulization therapy in the intensive care unit D. Use of various drugs (other than bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids) by nebulized route and miscellaneous uses of nebulization therapy E. Domiciliary/Home/Maintenance nebulization therapy; public & health care workers education, and F. Nebulization therapy in COVID-19 pandemic and in patients of other contagious viral respiratory infections (included later considering the crisis created due to COVID-19 pandemic). Various issues in different sections have been discussed in the form of questions, followed by point-wise evidence statements based on the existing knowledge, and recommendations have been formulated.

Does outpatient palliative care improve patient-centered outcomes in Parkinson's disease: Rationale, design, and implementation of a pragmatic comparative effectiveness trial

Patients with Parkinson's disease and related disorders (PDRD) and their families have considerable unmet needs including non-motor symptom management, caregiver support, spiritual wellbeing, advance care planning, and end-of-life care. There is increasing interest in applying palliative care (PC) models to better meet these needs. While PC has been shown to improve care and quality of life (QOL) for people with cancer and heart failure, few studies have evaluated the role of PC for people with PDRD. Well-designed clinical trials are needed to optimize the PC approach for PDRD and to influence policy and implementation efforts. We initiated a randomized multicenter comparative effectiveness trial of team-based outpatient PC versus usual care for people with PDRD and their caregivers. The primary aims of this study are to determine the effects of PC on patient QOL and caregiver burden. Qualitative interviews will be utilized to gain additional insights into the impact of PC on participants, the outcomes that matter most to this population, and to find opportunities to refine future interventions and trials. As a novel application of PC, challenges involved in the design of this study include choosing appropriate inclusion criteria, standardizing the intervention, defining usual care, and choosing outcome measures suitable to our research questions. Challenges involved in implementation include participant recruitment, retention, and management of participant burden. We anticipate the results of this trial will have relevance for both clinical care and future clinical research trial design in evaluating models of PC for people with PDRD and other serious illnesses.

Defining Palliative Care Needs in Parkinson's Disease

OBJECTIVES

Palliative care addresses the suffering of patients and families affected by progressive illness through the management of medical symptoms, psychosocial issues, and spiritual concerns. Although there is an emerging interest in applying palliative care to Parkinson's disease (PD), potential palliative care needs have not been systematically investigated in PD patients. Our primary objective was to determine the prevalence of clinically significant symptomatic, psychosocial, and spiritual issues in PD and understand their impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Secondary objectives included comparing the level of palliative care needs of PD patients to advanced cancer patients and assessing preferences for advance care planning.

METHODS

Ninety PD patients and 47 patients with advanced cancer were surveyed regarding potential palliative care needs, including symptom burden, mood, anticipatory grief, and spiritual well-being. PD patients completed additional scales regarding HRQOL, motor symptoms, cognitive impairment, and preferences regarding advance care planning.

RESULTS

Potential palliative care needs, including high symptom burden and grief, were common in PD patients and contributed to HRQOL even when controlling for depression and motor severity. In all domains investigated, PD patients had similar or higher levels of palliative care needs as patients with advanced cancer. PD patients expressed a desire to complete advance directives early in the disease course and with a physician.

CONCLUSIONS

Palliative care needs contribute to HRQOL in PD and are of similar severity as cancer patients. This study supports and helps focus efforts to integrate palliative care principles in PD care across the spectrum of the disease.

Parkinson disease patients' perspectives on palliative care needs: What are they telling us?

BACKGROUND

A growing body of literature suggests that patients with Parkinson disease (PD) have many unmet needs under current models of care that may be addressed through palliative care approaches. A first step in improving care for patients with PD through palliative care principles is to better understand patient perspectives on their perceived needs and care preferences.

METHODS

A total of 30 in-depth individual interviews and 4 focus groups were held to elicit the perspectives of patients with PD on unmet palliative care needs and preferences for addressing these needs. We used ATLAS.ti and inductive qualitative data analysis techniques to interpret responses.

RESULTS

Patients articulated major challenges in living with a diverse and complex set of motor and nonmotor symptoms; feelings of loss; changes in roles, relationships, and concept of self; and expressed concerns about the future. Participants discussed gaps in their care, including support at the time of diagnosis, education about the disease, and advance care planning. There was an expressed interest in and openness of participants to interdisciplinary approaches for addressing these needs.

CONCLUSIONS

PD has a profound effect on multiple domains of a person's life starting at diagnosis. Patients desired individualized care and identified several areas where care from their primary neurologist could be improved. Patients were receptive to outpatient team-based palliative care services to address psychosocial issues, adjustment to illness (particularly at diagnosis and with progression), nonmotor symptom control, and advance care planning as an adjunct to usual care. Future research is needed to develop and test the effectiveness of palliative approaches to improve the care of patients with PD.

The lung cancer patient, the pneumologist and palliative care: a developing alliance

Considerable evidence is now available on the value of palliative care for lung cancer patients in all stages and at all times during the course of the disease. However, pneumologists and their institutions seem to be widely in arrears with the implementation of palliative care concepts and the development of integrated structures.

This review focuses on the available evidence and experience of various frequently unmet needs of lung cancer patients, especially psychological, social, spiritual and cultural ones. A PubMed search for evidence on these aspects of palliative care as well as on barriers to the implementation, on outcome parameters and effectiveness, and on structure and process quality was performed with a special focus on lung cancer patients.

As a consequence, this review particularly draws pneumologists’ attention to improving their skills in communication with the patients, their relatives and among themselves, and to establish team structures with more far-reaching competences and continuity than existing multilateral cooperations and conferences can provide. Ideally, any process of structural and procedural improvement should be accompanied by scientific evaluation and measures for quality optimisation.

Palliative care and neurology: time for a paradigm shift

Palliative care is an approach to the care of patients and families facing progressive and chronic illnesses that focuses on the relief of suffering due to physical symptoms, psychosocial issues, and spiritual distress. As neurologists care for patients with chronic, progressive, life-limiting, and disabling conditions, it is important that they understand and learn to apply the principles of palliative medicine. In this article, we aim to provide a practical starting point in palliative medicine for neurologists by answering the following questions: (1) What is palliative care and what is hospice care? (2) What are the palliative care needs of neurology patients? (3) Do neurology patients have unique palliative care needs? and (4) How can palliative care be integrated into neurology practice? We cover several fundamental palliative care skills relevant to neurologists, including communication of bad news, symptom assessment and management, advance care planning, caregiver assessment, and appropriate referral to hospice and other palliative care services. We conclude by suggesting areas for future educational efforts and research.

Palliative care in COPD--web survey in Sweden highlights the current situation for a vulnerable group of patients

BACKGROUND

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common cause of death. Despite the heavy symptom burden in late stages, these patients are relatively seldom referred to specialist palliative care.

METHODS

A web-based survey concerning medical and organizational aspects of palliative care in COPD was distributed to respiratory physicians in Sweden. There were 93 respondents included in the study.

RESULTS

Palliative care issues were regularly discussed with the patients according to a third of the respondents. About half of the respondents worked in settings where established routines for co-operation with palliative units were available at least to some extent. Less than half of the respondents (39%) were aware of current plans to develop palliative care, either as a co-operative effort or within the facility. Palliative care is focused on physical, psychological, social, and existential dimensions, and the proportions of respondents providing support within these dimensions, 'always' or 'often', were 83%, 36%, 32%, and 11%, respectively. Thus, to treat the physical dimensions was perceived as much more obvious than to address the other dimensions.

CONCLUSIONS

The survey indicates that the priorities and resources for palliative care in COPD are insufficient in Sweden. The data, despite limitations, reveal a lack of established team-work with specialized palliative care units and actual plans for such co-operation.