- Intro
- Communication
- Decision Making
- Treatment Complications
- Symptom Control
- Psychosocial
- Care of Dying
- Other
Palliative Care eLibrary
Palliative care is the comprehensive multidisciplinary management of patients' physical, psychological, social, spiritual and existential needs. It can be part of the treatment of any person with a serious or life-threatening medical condition for which a patient-centered approach, pain and symptom control, family involvement and compassionate care are needed.
The National Cancer Policy Board and Institute of Medicine (2001) has stressed the need for Comprehensive Cancer Centers to focus of palliative care as an important part of cancer care. The report defines 6 major skill sets that comprise palliative care, skills applicable to all of medicine.
This site links to pertinent articles in each of these skill sets. Required readings for medical trainees at the University of Wisconsin are boxed for identification. Some journals require a log-in with a UW-Madison Net ID and password.
-
Prognostic Disclosure to Patients with Cancer near the End of Life
Elizabeth B. Lamont, MD, MS; and Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD, MPH, Annals - Truth in the Most Optimistic Way
Annals Editorial - Can 40 Seconds of Compassion Reduce Patient Anxiety?
Linda A. Fogarty, Barbara A. Curbow, John R. Wingard, Karen McDonnell, Mark R. Somerfield, JCO - Effect of Providing Cancer Patients With the Audiotaped Initial Consultation on Satisfaction, Recall, and Quality of Life: A Randomized, Double-Blind Study
L.M.L. Ong, M.R.M. Visser, F.B. Lammes, J. van der Velden, B.C. Kuenen, J.C.J.M. de Haes, JCO - Communication Between Primary Care Physicians and Radiation Oncologists Regarding Patients With Cancer Treated With Palliative Radiotherapy
Elizabeth A. Barnes, John Hanson, Catherine M. Neumann, Cheryl L. Nekolaichuk, Eduardo Bruera, JCO - Strategic Physician Communication and Oncology Clinical Trials
T L. Albrecht, C Blanchard, J.C. Ruckdeschel, M Coovert, R. Strongbow, JCO - Effect of Clinician Communication Skills Training on Patient Satisfaction
A Randomized, Controlled Trial
J Betz Brown, MPP, PhD; M Boles, PhD; J Mullooly, PhD; W Levinson, MD, Annals - "Tell Me about Yourself": The Patient-Centered Interview
Frederic W. Platt, MD; David L. Gaspar, MD; John L. Coulehan, MD, MPH; Lucy Fox, MD; Andrew J. Adler, MD; W. Wayne Weston, MD; Robert C. Smith, MD; and Moira Stewart, PhD, Annals - Pronouncing
Annals - Giving Bad News to Cancer Patients: Matching Process and Content
JCO, When the Cancer is not the Target
Advanced Care Planning
- A Consensus-Based Approach To Providing Palliative Care to Patients Who Lack Decision-Making Capacity
Jason H.T. Karlawish, MD; Timothy Quill, MD; Diane E. Meier, MD, for the ACP-ASIM End-of-Life Care Consensus Panel, Annals of Internal Medicine - Effectiveness of Computer-Generated Reminders for Increasing Discussions about Advance Directives and Completion of Advance Directive Forms A Randomized, Controlled Trial
Paul R. Dexter, MD; Fredric D. Wolinsky, PhD; Gregory P. Gramelspacher, MD; Xiao-Hua Zhou, PhD; George J. Eckert, MAS; Marina Waisburd, MS; and William M. Tierney, MD, Annals of Internal Medicine, 15 January 1998. 128:102-110. - Dialysis Patients' Preferences for Family-Based Advance Care Planning
Stephen C. Hines, PhD; Jacqueline J. Glover, PhD; Jean L. Holley, MD; Austin S. Babrow, PhD; Laurie A. Badzek, RN, JD; and Alvin H. Moss, MD, Annals of Internal Medicine
Dementia
- A Reevaluation of the Duration of Survival after the Onset of Dementia
C. Wolfson and Others, NEJM
Nausea and Vomiting
- Contribution of Dexamethasone to Control of Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Evidence
John P. A. Ioannidis, Paul J. Hesketh, Joseph Lau, JCO - Recommendations for the Use of Antiemetics: Evidence-Based, Clinical Practice Guidelines
JCO - Insufficient Effectiveness of 5-Hydroxytryptamine-3 Receptor Antagonists Due to Oral Morphine Administration in Patients With Cisplatin-Induced Emesis
Akira Shoji, Mariko Toda, Kaneo Suzuki, Hiroshi Takahashi, Kenichi Takahashi, Yasuhiro Yoshiike, Takashi Ogura, Yuji Watanuki, Harumi Nishiyama, Shigeki Odagiri, JCO - Cannabinoids for control of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting: quantitative systematic review
BMJ
The role of bisphosphonates
- Zoledronic Acid Is Superior to Pamidronate in the Treatment of Hypercalcemia of Malignancy: A Pooled Analysis of Two Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trials
P. Major, A. Lortholary, J. Hon, E. Abdi, G. Mills, H. D. Menssen, F. Yunus, R. Bell, J. Body, E. Quebe-Fehling, and J. Seaman, Journal of Clinical Oncology - The Role of Bisphosphonates in Multiple Myeloma
Annals of Internal Medicine Editorial - ASCO Guideline on the Role of Bisphosphonates in Breast Cancer
JCO
Infections
- 2000 Update of Recommendations for the Use of Hematopoietic Colony-Stimulating Factors: Evidence-Based, Clinical Practice Guidelines
JCO
- Use of Hematopoietic Colony-Stimulating Factors: Comparison of the 1994 and 1997 American Society of Clinical Oncology Surveys Regarding ASCO Clinical Practice Guidelines
JCO
Fatigue and Anemia
- Fatigue in cancer
BMJ Editorial - Effects of Epoetin Alfa on Hematologic Parameters and Quality of Life in Cancer Patients Receiving Nonplatinum Chemotherapy: Results of a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial
T. J. Littlewood, E. Bajetta, J. W.R. Nortier, E. Vercammen, B. Rapoport et al, Journal of Clinical Oncology - Clinical Evaluation of Once-Weekly Dosing of Epoetin Alfa in Chemotherapy Patients: Improvements in Hemoglobin and Quality of Life Are Similar to Three-Times-Weekly Dosing
Janice L. Gabrilove, Charles S. Cleeland, Robert B. Livingston, Brenda Sarokhan, Eric Winer, Lawrence H. Einhorn, Journal of Clinical Oncology - Cancer-Related Fatigue: Prevalence of Proposed Diagnostic Criteria in a United States Sample of Cancer Survivors
David Cella, Kimberly Davis, William Breitbart, Gregory Curt, for the Fatigue Coalition, Journal of Clinical Oncology
Pain
- Are cannabinoids an effective and safe treatment option in the management of pain? A qualitative systematic review
BMJ - Lack of Adherence With the Analgesic Regimen: A Significant Barrier to Effective Cancer Pain Management
Christine Miaskowski, Marylin J. Dodd, Claudia West, Steven M. Paul, Debu Tripathy, Peter Koo, Karen Schumacher
JCO - Management of Pain and Spinal Cord Compression in Patients with Advanced Cancer
Janet L. Abrahm, MD, for the ACP-ASIM End-of-Life Care Consensus Panel, Annals - Empirical Comparison of Commonly Used Measures to Evaluate Pain Treatment in Cancer Patients With Chronic Pain
Rianne de Wit, Frits van Dam, Huda Huijer Abu-Saad, Simone Loonstra, Linda Zandbelt,
JCO - Switching From Morphine to Methadone to Improve Analgesia and Tolerability in Cancer Patients: A Prospective Study
Sebastiano Mercadante, Alessandra Casuccio, Fabio Fulfaro, Liliana Groff, Roberto Boffi, Patrizia Villari, Vittorio Gebbia, Carla Ripamonti, Journal of Clinical Oncology - Rapid Switching From Morphine to Methadone in Cancer Patients With Poor Response to Morphine
Sebastiano Mercadante, Alessandra Casuccio, Luciano Calderone, Journal of Clinical Oncology - Implementing Guidelines for Cancer Pain Management: Results of a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
Stuart L. Du Pen, Anna R. Du Pen, Nayak Polissar, Jennifer Hansberry, Beth Miller Kraybill, Mark Stillman, Joan Panke, Rebecca Everly, Karen Syrjala, Journal of Clinical Oncology - Opioids in chronic non-malignant pain
Henry McQuay, BMJ 2001; 322: 1134-1135 - Randomised crossover trial of transdermal fentanyl and sustained release oral morphine for treating chronic non-cancer pain
Laurie Allan, Helen Hays, Niels-Henrik Jensen, Bernard Le Polain de Waroux, Michiel Bolt, Royden Donald, and Eija Kalso, BMJ 2001; 322: 1154. - Multicentre randomised controlled trial of nasal diamorphine for analgesia in children and teenagers with clinical fractures
Jason M Kendall, Barnaby C Reeves, and Victoria S Latter, BMJ 2001; 322: 261-265
Intestional Obstruction
Delerium
- Diagnosis and Management of Delirium near the End of Life
David J. Casarett, MD, MA; Sharon K. Inouye, MD, MPH, for the American College of Physicians - American Society of Internal Medicine End-of-Life Care Consensus Panel, Annals
Cachexia
- Randomized Comparison of Megestrol Acetate Versus Dexamethasone Versus Fluoxymesterone for the Treatment of Cancer Anorexia/Cachexia
Charles L. Loprinzi, John W. Kugler, Jeff A. Sloan, James A. Mailliard, James E. Krook, Mary B. Wilwerding, Kendrith M. Rowland, Jr, John K. Camoriano, Paul J. Novotny, Bradley J. Christensen, Annals - Cachexia
Annals
Spirituality
- Physicians and Patient Spirituality: Professional Boundaries, Competency, and Ethics
Stephen G. Post, PhD; Christina M. Puchalski, MD, MS; and David B. Larson, MD, MSPH, Annals
Quality of Life
- Impact of Quality of Life on Patient Expectations Regarding Phase I Clinical Trials
Jonathan D. Cheng, James Hitt, Bogda Koczwara, Kevin A. Schulman, Caroline B. Burnett, Darrell J. Gaskin, Julia H. Rowland, Neal J. Meropol, JCO - Measuring quality of life: Is there such a thing as a life not worth living?
Bobbie Farsides, Robert J Dunlop, BMJ - Measuring quality of life: Who should measure quality of life?
Julia Addington-Hall, Lalit Kalra, BMJ - Measuring quality of life: Are quality of life measures patient centred?
Alison J Carr and Irene J Higginson, BMJ 2001; 322: 1357-1360. - Measuring quality of life: Using quality of life measures in the clinical setting
Irene J Higginson and Alison J Carr, BMJ 2001; 322: 1297-1300. - Quality of Life in Palliative Cancer Care: Results From a Cluster Randomized Trial
Marit S. Jordhøy, Peter Fayers, Jon Håvard Loge, Marianne Ahlner-Elmqvist, Stein Kaasa, JCO
Addiction Issues
- Update in Addiction Medicine
Robert K. Schneider, MD; James L. Levenson, MD; and Sidney H. Schnoll, MD, Annals
Physician Assisted Suicide
- Annals PAS Issue
- Attitudes and Practices of U.S. Oncologists regarding Euthanasia a Physician-Assisted Suicide
Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD; Diane Fairclough, DPH; Brian C. Clarridge, PhD; Diane Blum, MSW; Eduardo Bruera, MD; W. Charles Penley, MD; Lowell E. Schnipper, MD; and Robert J. Mayer, MD, Annals
- Physician-Assisted Suicide
Lois Snyder, JD; Daniel P. Sulmasy, OFM, MD, PhD, for the Ethics and Human Rights Committee, American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, Annals
- Stability of Attitudes Regarding Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia Among Oncology Patients, Physicians, and the General Public
Joanne Wolfe, Diane L. Fairclough, Brian R. Clarridge, Elisabeth R. Daniels, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, Journal of Clinical Oncology - Attitudes and Desires Related to Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide Among Terminally Ill Patients and Their Caregivers Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD; Diane L. Fairclough, DPH; Linda L. Emanuel, MD, PhD, JAMA
- Euthanasia: where the Netherlands leads will the world follow? No. Legalisation is a diversion from improving care for the dying
BMJ Editorial
Depression
- Assessing and Managing Depression in the Terminally Ill Patient
Susan D. Block, MD, for the ACP-ASIM End-of-Life Care Consensus Panel
End of Life in ICU
- Dying Patients in the Intensive Care Unit: Forgoing Treatment, Maintaining Care
Kathy Faber-Langendoen, MD; and Paul N. Lanken, MD, for the ACP-ASIM End-of-Life Care Consensus Panel - Older Age, Aggressiveness of Care, and Survival for Seriously Ill, Hospitalized Adults
Mary Beth Hamel, MD, MPH; Roger B. Davis, ScD; Joan M. Teno, MD, MS; William A. Knaus, MD; Joanne Lynn, MD; Frank Harrell, PhD; Anthony N. Galanos, MD; Albert W. Wu, MD, MPH; Russell S. Phillips, MD, for the SUPPORT Investigators, Annals - The Legacy of SUPPORT
Annals Editorial - Patient Age and Decisions To Withhold Life-Sustaining Treatments from Seriously Ill, Hospitalized Adults
MB Hamel, MD, MPH; JM. Teno, MD, MS; L Goldman, MD, MPH; J Lynn, MD, MA; RB Davis, ScD; AN. Galanos, MD; N Desbiens, MD; AF Connors, MD; N Wenger, MD, MPH; RS. Phillips, MD, for the SUPPORT Investigators, Annals - Mechanical Ventilation in a Cohort of Elderly Patients Admitted to an Intensive Care Unit
E. Wesley Ely, MD, MPH; Gregory W. Evans, MA; and Edward F. Haponik, MD, Annals
End of Life Care
- Older Persons' Preferences for Site of Terminal Care
Terri R. Fried, MD; Carol van Doorn, PhD; John R. O'Leary, MA; Mary E. Tinetti, MD; and Margaret A. Drickamer, MD, Annals of Internal Medicine, 1999
- Seven Legal Barriers to End-of-Life Care: Myths, Realities, and Grains of Truth
Alan Meisel, JD; Lois Snyder, JD; Timothy Quill, MD; for the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine End-of-Life Care Consensus Panel, JAMA
- Factors Considered Important at the End of Life by Patients, Family, Physicians, and Other Care Providers
Karen E. Steinhauser, PhD; Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD, MPH; Elizabeth C. Clipp, PhD, MS, RN; Maya McNeilly, PhD; Lauren McIntyre, PhD; James A. Tulsky, MD, JAMA, 2000
- Discussing Palliative Care with Patients
Bernard Lo, MD; Timothy Quill, MD; James Tulsky, MD, for the ACP-ASIM End-of-Life Care Consensus Panel, Annals
- Understanding of Prognosis Among Parents of Children Who Died of Cancer: Impact on Treatment Goals and Integration of Palliative Care
Joanne Wolfe, MD, MPH; Neil Klar, PhD; Holcombe E. Grier, MD; Janet Duncan, RN, MS; Susanne Salem-Schatz, ScD; Ezekiel, J. Emanuel, MD, PhD; Jane C. Weeks, MD, MSc, JAMA, 2000 - Patient Preference for Cancer Therapy: An Overview of Measurement Approaches
A.M. Stiggelbout and J. C.J.M. de Haes, JCO, 2001 - In Search of a Good Death: Observations of Patients, Families, and Providers
Karen E. Steinhauser, PhD; Elizabeth C. Clipp, PhD, MS, RN; Maya McNeilly, PhD; Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD, MPH; Lauren M. McIntyre, PhD; and James A. Tulsky, MD, Annals - Understanding Economic and Other Burdens of Terminal Illness: The Experience of Patients and Their Caregivers
Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD; Diane L. Fairclough, DPH; Julia Slutsman, BA; and Linda L. Emanuel, MD, PhD, Annals
Suffering
- Diagnosing Suffering: A Perspective
Eric J. Cassell, MD, Annals - Responding to Intractable Terminal Suffering: The Role of Terminal Sedation and Voluntary Refusal of Food and Fluids
Timothy E. Quill, MD; Ira R. Byock, MD, for the ACP-ASIM End-of-Life Care Consensus Panel, Annals
Witholding and Withdrawing
Hospise
- Evaluation of Prognostic Criteria for Determining Hospice Eligibility in Patients With Advanced Lung, Heart, or Liver Disease
Ellen Fox, MD; Kristen Landrum-McNiff, MPH; Zhenshao Zhong, PhD; Neal V. Dawson, MD; Albert W. Wu, MD, MPH; Joanne Lynn, MD, MA; for the SUPPORT Investigators, JAMA, 1999
Bereavement
- Life after Death: A Practical Approach to Grief and Bereavement
David Casarett, MD, MA; Jean S. Kutner, MD; Janet Abrahm, MD, for the End-of-Life Care Consensus Panel, Annals - The Doctor's Letter of Condolence
S. E. Bedell, K. Cadenhead, and T. B. Graboys, NEJM
- Development and Testing of a Visit-Specific Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire: The Princess Margaret Hospital Satisfaction With Doctor Questionnaire
D. Andrew Loblaw, Andrea Bezjak, Terry Bunston
- Drug Interactions in Palliative Care
Stephen A. Bernard, Eduardo Bruera
- Outcome for Cancer Patients Requiring Mechanical Ventilation
Jeffrey S. Groeger, Peter White, Jr, David M. Nierman, Jill Glassman, Weiji Shi, David Horak, Kristen Price
The Art Of Oncology: When The Tumor Is Not The Target
- A Good Death: Not Just an Abstract Concept
- Discussing Do-Not-Resuscitate Status
- The Narrow Path
- "But Doctor, What Have I Got to Lose ...?"
- Just Whose Autonomy Is It?
- The Power of Silence
- Not Just Tired
- Death Denial
- Tell It Like It Is
- Tell the Children
- On Appetite and Its Loss
- Doc, How Much Time Do I Have?
- A Revisitation of "Doc, How Much Time Do I Have?"
- Doc, Shouldn't We Be Getting Some Tests?
- Spirituality and the Dying Patient
- Interventional Pain Therapy for Intractable Abdominal Cancer Pain
- To Hydrate or Not to Hydrate: How Should It Be?
- Caring for Dying Patients: What Is Right?
- Quality Indicators for End-of-Life Care in Vulnerable Elders
Annals Medical Writings
- "I Wish Things Were Different": Expressing Wishes in Response to Loss, Futility, and Unrealistic Hopes
- "Let Me See If I Have This Right . . . ": Words That Help Build Empathy
John L. Coulehan, MD; Frederic W. Platt, MD; Barry Egener, MD; Richard Frankel, PhD; Chen-Tan Lin, MD; Beth Lown, MD; and William H. Salazar, MD
On Being a Doctor
- Billie Belle's Unkind Death
- A Model Death
- Trying To Let Go
David J. Costigan, MD - Same Old Seventeen-Dollar Lamps
Timothy E. Quill, MD - Saving Lives and Saving Deaths
Judith E. Nelson, MD, JD
On Being a Patient
- Under Toad Days: Surviving the Uncertainty of Cancer Recurrence
- Reflections on a Bone Marrow Transplant
- Reflections on a Death
- Fathers, Doctors, and Time
- The Ritual
Thomas V. Nowak, MD - Oregon's Low In-Hospital Death Rates
What Determines Where People Die and Satisfaction with Decisions on Place of Death?
Susan W. Tolle, MD; Anne G. Rosenfeld, PhD, RN; Virginia P. Tilden, DNSc, RN; and Yon Park, BA - Prescribing of drugs for use outside their licence in palliative care: survey of specialists in the United Kingdom
Hilary Pavis, specialist registrar in palliative medicine, Andrew Wilcock, senior lecturer in palliative medicine and medical oncology.
Page last updated: October 13, 2009
Questions or suggestions? Contact Rhonda Sager
Copyright © 2001 - 2009, The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
Ebling Library, Health Sciences Learning Center
750 Highland Ave
Madison, WI 53705-2221
(608) 262-2020
If you have trouble accessing this page please contact us at EblingWeb at library.wisc.edu