Assessment of Palliative Care Team Activities —Survey of Medications Prescribed Immediately before and at the Beginning of Opioid Usage—

Michiaki MYOTOKU; Yoko MURAYAMA; Akiko NAKANISHI; Norio HASHIMOTO; Fumiko KOYAMA; Keiko IRISHIO; Syunichi KAWAGUCHI; Seiji YAMAGUCHI; Kenji IKEDA; Yoshihiko HIROTANI

doi:10.1248/yakushi.128.299

Notes

Assessment of Palliative Care Team Activities
—Survey of Medications Prescribed Immediately before and at the Beginning of Opioid Usage—

Michiaki MYOTOKU ^†, Yoko MURAYAMA ^†, Akiko NAKANISHI ^†, Norio HASHIMOTO ^†, Fumiko KOYAMA ^†, Keiko IRISHIO ^†, Syunichi KAWAGUCHI ^†, Seiji YAMAGUCHI ^†, Kenji IKEDA ^†, Yoshihiko HIROTANI ^†

Author information

Michiaki MYOTOKU ^†
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Osaka Ohtani University
Department of Pharmacy , Municipal Ikeda Hospital
Palliative Care Team, Municipal Ikeda Hospital
Yoko MURAYAMA ^†
Department of Pharmacy , Municipal Ikeda Hospital
Palliative Care Team, Municipal Ikeda Hospital
Akiko NAKANISHI ^†
Department of Pharmacy , Municipal Ikeda Hospital
Palliative Care Team, Municipal Ikeda Hospital
Norio HASHIMOTO ^†
Palliative Care Team, Municipal Ikeda Hospital
Fumiko KOYAMA ^†
Palliative Care Team, Municipal Ikeda Hospital
Keiko IRISHIO ^†
Department of Pharmacy , Municipal Ikeda Hospital
Syunichi KAWAGUCHI ^†
Department of Pharmacy , Municipal Ikeda Hospital
Seiji YAMAGUCHI ^†
Palliative Care Team, Municipal Ikeda Hospital
Kenji IKEDA ^†
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Osaka Ohtani University
Yoshihiko HIROTANI ^†
Laboratory of Clinical Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Osaka Ohtani University
Author contributions

†These authors contributed equally: Michiaki MYOTOKU, Yoko MURAYAMA, Akiko NAKANISHI, Norio HASHIMOTO, Fumiko KOYAMA, Keiko IRISHIO, Syunichi KAWAGUCHI, Seiji YAMAGUCHI, Kenji IKEDA, Yoshihiko HIROTANI

Keywords: palliative care team, pain, opioid, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, laxative, antiemetic

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2008 Volume 128 Issue 2 Pages 299-304

DOI https://doi.org/10.1248/yakushi.128.299

Details

Abstract

We established the Terminal Care Study Group, consisting of physicians, pharmacists, and nurses, in September 2001, and developed the group into the Palliative Care Team. We have surveyed the state of concomitant medications immediately before and at the beginning of opioid usage (except injections) to assess the role of the Palliative Care Team. The survey period was 3 years from October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2005. While the frequency of the prescription of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), laxatives, or antiemetics before the beginning of opioid administration did not differ significantly among the 3 periods, that at the beginning of opioid administration increased significantly in 2003 compared with 2002, and increased further in 2004. Many of the drugs used were those that were recommended in our cancer pain management program. Thus, the activities of the Palliative Care Team are considered to have led to proper measures for the control of the major adverse effects of opioids such as constipation and nausea/vomiting in addition to pain control in accordance with the WHO's pain ladder, and also contributed to improvements of the patients' QOL.

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