A comparison of symptoms in older hospitalised cancer and non-cancer patients in need of palliative care: a secondary analysis of two cross-sectional studies.

Autor: Van Lancker A; University Centre for Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. aurelie_van_lancker@hotmail.com., Van Hecke A; University Centre for Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium., Verhaeghe S; University Centre for Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium., Mattheeuws M; University Centre for Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium., Beeckman D; University Centre for Nursing and Midwifery, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: BMC geriatrics [BMC Geriatr] 2018 Feb 05; Vol. 18 (1), pp. 40. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Feb 05.
DOI: 10.1186/s12877-018-0721-7
Abstrakt: Background: Evidence on the differences in symptom patterns between older palliative cancer and non-cancer patients is lacking. The purpose of the study was to determine the differences in symptoms between older hospitalised palliative cancer and non-cancer patients.
Methods: A secondary analysis of two multi-centre cross-sectional studies was performed. A validated instrument was used to assess the frequency and intensity of 40 symptoms in older hospitalised palliative cancer patients (n = 100) and older palliative non-cancer patients (n = 100). The data were collected between March 2013 and June 2015. Differences between groups were measured statistically.
Results: Overall, similarities in symptom patterns were observed between cancer and non-cancer patients. Some minor differences were detected between the groups. Non-cancer patients experienced significantly more physical symptoms and functional dependence than cancer patients. Patients with cancer experienced higher levels of frequency and intensity of psychological symptoms compared to non-cancer patients.
Conclusions: Healthcare professionals should be aware of the high occurrence of symptoms in both cancer and non-cancer patients, and they should be educated about the systematic assessment of symptoms in multiple domains by accounting for the occurrence of generic symptoms and disease-specific symptoms.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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