This is a practical, easily accessible A-Z of the common drugs encountered in palliative care

Palliative medicine was first recognised as a specialist field in 1987. One hundred years earlier, London based doctor William Munk published a treatise on 'easeful death' that mapped out the principles of practical, spiritual, and medical support at the end of life. In the intervening years a major process of development took place which led to innovative services, new approaches to the study and relief of pain and other symptoms, a growing interest in 'holistic' care, and a desire to gain more recognition for care at the end of life. This book traces the history of palliative medicine, from its nineteenth-century origins, to its modern practice around the world. It takes in the changing meaning of 'euthanasia', assesses the role of religious and philanthropic organisations in the creation of homes for the dying, and explores how twentieth-century doctors created a special focus on end of life care. To Comfort Always traces the rise of clinical studies, academic programmes and international collaborations to promote palliative care. It examines the continuing need to support development with evidence, and assesses the dilemmas of unequal access to services and pain relieving drugs, as well as the periodic accusations of creeping medicalization within the field. This is the first history of its kind, and the breadth of information it encompasses makes it an essential resource for those interested in the long-term achievements of palliative medicine as well as the challenges that remain.

This handbook offers a practical, thorough approach to the clinical practice of palliative care. Adding North American authors to its roster of UK contributors, the third edition of this award-winning book addresses important changes in the evidence base of palliative care, as well as an emphasis on end-of-life community-based care. It features new chapters on dementia and advance care planning, a simplified lymphoedema discussion, and an ongoing commitment to providing essential guidance for physicians, nurses, and all primary care providers involved in palliative care in hospital, hospice, and community settings.

Section 1: Palliative Care What is Palliative Care? (H Y Wu); Section 2: Symptoms Bone Pain (A Hum); Brain Metastasis (M Dalisay-Gallardo); Cancer Pain (R Lee); Constipation (R Chen); Delirium (S L Ang); Diarrhoea (S L Ang); Dyspnea (S L Ang); Hiccups (M Dalisay-Gallardo); Malignant Ascites (X Heng); Nausea and Vomiting (X Heng); Oral Thrush (S C Chia); Pruritus (X Heng); Section 3: End Organ Disease End-Stage Heart Failure (C H Aw); End-Stage Renal Failure (J Guan); End-Stage Lung Disease (Z-Y Chiam); End Stage Liver Disease (J Lau); Dementia and Frailty (W Y Goh); Paediatric Palliative Care (P H Chong); Section 4: Terminal Symptoms Nutrition and Hydration (M Y Chau); Palliative Sedation (C H Poi); Terminal Secretions/Rattling (M Y Chau); Section 5: Palliative Care Emergencies Acute Pain Crisis (R Lee); Airway Obstruction (Stridor) (C M Lee); Bleeding (J Ong); Hypercalcemia (C S Lee); Seizures (J Ong); Malignant Spinal Cord Compression (C M Yee); Superior Vena Cava Obstruction (C S Lee); Venous Thromboembolism (A Hum); Section 6: Psychosocial Issues in Palliative Care Anxiety (Y X Kwan); Depression (W P Lim); Grief and Bereavement (Y X Kwan); Spiritual Care (T Yung); Section 7: Communication Breaking Bad News (M Koh); Goals of Care Discussions (M Koh); Advance Care Planning (R Ng); An Approach to Ethical Case Analysis in Palliative Care (H Y Neo); Section 8: Community Services Community Palliative Care Services (G S Chia); Section 9: Opioids and Adjuvant Analgesics Codeine (S C Chia); Fentanyl (R Lee); Ketamine (M T Provido); Methadone (M T Provido); Morphine (H K Lee); Oxycodone (H K Lee); Tramadol (S C Chia); Lignocaine (S C Chia); Section 10: Practical Issues in Palliative Care Opioid Conversion Chart (C Tan); Continuous Subcutaneous Infusion Drug Chart; Hypodermoclysis (C Tan); Drug Compatibility (H K Lee et al.); Terminal Discharge (W Ong); Opioid Toxicity (A Hum); Palliative Care Drug Formulary (H K Lee et al.)

This book serves as a valuable reference source, providing a comprehensive review of syringe driver use and administration of drugs via CSCI, a safe and effective way of drug administration when other routes are inappropriate.

This title provides professionals who care for the dying with a user-friendly guide on how to render the best possible treatment.

Tarascon Palliative Medicine Pocketbook is the only shirt pocket-sized, quick reference for guiding those difficult conversations with patients and family members who require palliative and hospice care. Practitioners will find helpful ideas as well as guidance on managing difficult to control symptoms whether practicing in a busy clinic, making home visits or managing the hospitalized patient. Containing communication skill techniques, prognostication tools, symptom management options and ethical issues, this one of a kind, portable guide is an ideal tool for any member of the Palliative Medicine team, including: physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, pharmacists and more.

The book’s main contribution is its interdisciplinary approach to the issue of sedation at the end-of-life. Because it occurs at the end of life, palliative sedation raises a number of important ethical and legal questions, including whether it is a covert form of euthanasia and for what purposes it may legally be used. Many of the book chapters address the first question and almost all deal with a specific form of the second: whether palliative sedation should be used for those experiencing “existential suffering”? This raises the question of what existential suffering is, a topic that is also discussed in the book. The different chapters address these issues from the perspectives of the relevant disciplines: Palliative Medicine, Bioethics, Law and Theology. Hence, helpful accounts of the clinical and historical background for this issue are provided and the importance of drawing accurate ethical and legal distinctions is stressed throughout the whole book. So the volume represents a valuable contribution to the emerging literature on this topic and should be helpful across a broad spectrum of readers: philosophers, theologians and physicians.

The first Australian edition of The Palliative Care Handbook provides guidelines for clinical management and symptom control for people receiving end-of-life care.The Palliative Care Handbook has two main sections - the first is a set of guidelines for the alleviation of symptoms commonly encountered in palliative care, including drug therapy and psycho-social and spiritual needs. The second section (the pharmacopoeia) contains detailed drug information.