Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes-Palliative Care in Africa Program: Improving Access to Quality Palliative Care

Purpose: There is limited access to quality palliative care (PC) for patients with advanced cancer in sub-Saharan Africa. Our aim was to describe the development of the Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes- Palliative Care in Africa (ECHO-PACA) program and describe a preliminary evaluation of attitudes and knowledge of participants regarding the ability of the program to deliver quality PC. Methods: An interdisciplinary team at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, guided by experts in PC in sub-Saharan Africa, adapted a standardized curriculum based on PC needs in the region. Participants were then recruited, and monthly telementoring sessions were held for 16 months. The monthly telementoring sessions consisted of case presentations, discussions, and didactic lectures. Program participants came from 14 clinics and teaching hospitals in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia. Participants were surveyed at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the 16-month program to evaluate changes in attitudes and knowledge of PC. Results: The median number of participants per session was 30. Thirty-three (83%) of 40 initial participants completed the feedback survey. Health care providers’ self-reported confidence in providing PC increased with participation in the Project ECHO-PACA clinic. There was significant improvement in the participants’ attitudes and knowledge, especially in titrating opioids for pain control (P = .042), appropriate use of non-opioid analgesics (P = .012), and identifying and addressing communication issues related to end-of-life care (P = .014). Conclusion: Project ECHO-PACA was a successful approach for disseminating knowledge about PC. The participants were adherent to ECHO PACA clinics and the completion of feedback surveys. Future studies should evaluate the impact of Project ECHO-PACA on changes in provider practice as well as patient outcomes

Management of cancer pain in pregnancy: can opioids be used?

Cancer in pregnancy is less common, however its frequency is increasing due to delayed onset of childbearing. Pregnant patients with cancer can experience high frequency of moderate to severe cancer pain. It can be challenging to manage cancer pain due to the complexity with assessment and treatment as many of the analgesics are avoided. There exists limited research and few guidelines by national and international organizations to guide effective opioid management among pregnant women or pregnant woman with cancer pain. Pregnant patients with cancer need to be managed by interdisciplinary team with multimodal analgesia including opioids, adjuvants, non-pharmacological interventions for optimal care of these patient and later the neonate. Opioids such as morphine may be considered for the management of severe cancer pain during pregnancy. It is important to prescribe the lowest effective dose and quantity of opioids after taking into consideration the risk/benefit to patient-infant dyad. Neonatal abstinence syndrome should be anticipated after delivery and carefully managed in intensive care, if possible. Further research is needed. In this review article we describe the challenges of managing cancer pain in pregnant woman and the current approach of opioids management for cancer pain in these patients using a case report

Challenges of Managing Advanced Cancer Patients Through Phone Triaging at an Outpatient Supportive Care Clinic: A Case Series of Palliative Care Patients

Palliative care strives to improve the quality of life for patients and their families by impeccable assessment and management using an interdisciplinary approach. However, patients with cancer-related pain and other symptoms tend to be undertreated because of limited follow-up visits due to late referrals and logistics. Thus, patients who present to the outpatient Supportive Care Center at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center often experience severe physical and psychological symptoms. The two case reports presented highlight the challenges of managing distressed patients with advanced cancer in the outpatient setting. These descriptions focus on addressing patient needs over the phone to enhance the care patients receive at the Supportive Care Center. Future prospective studies are needed to measure the effectiveness of using phone triaging in conjunction with standard outpatient palliative care