Carin C D van der Rijt

Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands

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Publications (26)124.56 Total impact

  • Article: Systematic Monitoring and Treatment of Physical Symptoms to Alleviate Fatigue in Patients With Advanced Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
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    ABSTRACT: PURPOSESeveral guidelines on the treatment of cancer-related fatigue recommend optimizing treatment of accompanying symptoms. However, evidence for this recommendation from randomized clinical trials is lacking. We investigated whether monitoring and protocolized treatment of physical symptoms alleviates fatigue. PATIENTS AND METHODS In all, 152 fatigued patients with advanced cancer were randomly assigned to protocolized patient-tailored treatment (PPT) of symptoms or care as usual. The PPT group had four appointments with a nurse who assessed nine symptoms on a 0 to 10 numeric rating scale (NRS). Patients received a nonpharmacologic intervention for symptoms with a score ≥ 1 and a medical intervention for symptoms with a score ≥ 4. Fatigue dimensions, fatigue NRS score, interference of fatigue with daily life, symptom burden, quality of life, anxiety, and depression were measured at baseline and after 1, 2, and 3 months. Differences between the groups over time were assessed by using mixed modeling. RESULTS: fatigue dimensions "reduced activity" and "reduced motivation," fatigue NRS, symptom burden, interference of fatigue with daily life, and anxiety (all P ≤ .03). CONCLUSION In fatigued patients with advanced cancer, nurse-led monitoring and protocolized treatment of physical symptoms is effective in alleviating fatigue.
    Journal of Clinical Oncology 01/2013; · 18.37 Impact Factor
  • Article: Cut Points on 0-10 Numeric Rating Scales for Symptoms Included in the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale in Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review.
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    ABSTRACT: CONTEXT: To improve the management of cancer-related symptoms, systematic screening is necessary, often performed by using 0-10 numeric rating scales. Cut points are used to determine if scores represent clinically relevant burden. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this systematic review was to explore the evidence on cut points for the symptoms of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale. METHODS: Relevant literature was searched in PubMed, CINAHL(®), EMBASE, and PsycINFO(®). We defined a cut point as the lower bound of the scores representing moderate or severe burden. RESULTS: Eighteen articles were eligible for this review. Cut points were determined using the interference with daily life, another symptom-related method, or a verbal scale. For pain, cut point 5 and, to a lesser extent, cut point 7 were found as the optimal cut points for moderate pain and severe pain, respectively. For moderate tiredness, the best cut point seemed to be cut point 4. For severe tiredness, both cut points 7 and 8 were suggested frequently. A lack of evidence exists for nausea, depression, anxiety, drowsiness, appetite, well-being, and shortness of breath. Few studies suggested a cut point below 4. CONCLUSION: For many symptoms, there is no clear evidence as to what the optimal cut points are. In daily clinical practice, a symptom score ≥4 is recommended as a trigger for a more comprehensive symptom assessment. Until there is more evidence on the optimal cut points, we should hold back using a certain cut point in quality indicators and be cautious about strongly recommending a certain cut point in guidelines.
    Journal of pain and symptom management 09/2012; · 2.42 Impact Factor
  • Article: Differences in Fatigue Experiences Among Patients With Advanced Cancer, Cancer Survivors, and the General Population.
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    ABSTRACT: CONTEXT: Fatigue is a multidimensional symptom experienced physically, cognitively, and emotionally. Research on fatigue experiences in various stages of cancer might help to elucidate the nature of cancer-related fatigue. OBJECTIVES: To compare fatigue experiences in advanced cancer patients (ACPs), cancer survivors (CSs), and controls from the general population (GenPop). METHODS: Sixty-three ACPs (no antitumor therapy in the last month and no options for future therapy) were matched for age, sex and diagnosis with 63 CSs (last treatment one to five years ago) and 315 controls. Fatigue was measured unidimensionally with the Numeric Rating Scale and multidimensionally with the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory. RESULTS: All fatigue levels (general fatigue, physical fatigue, reduced activity, reduced motivation, and mental fatigue) were higher in ACPs than in CSs and controls (P<0.01), whereas fatigue levels were not different between CSs and controls. NRS scores in ACPs and CSs were significantly predicted by the fatigue dimensions physical fatigue and mental fatigue only. Although physical fatigue and mental fatigue were strongly related in the GenPop, the relation was weaker in CSs and not significant in ACPs. In multivariate analyses, only physical fatigue differentiated ACPs from CSs and controls (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: ACPs experience fatigue more intensely than CSs and controls when fatigue is measured multidimensionally. Although mental and physical dimensions of fatigue contribute to the overall experience of fatigue in both groups of cancer patients, physical fatigue best differentiated ACPs from both CSs and controls.
    Journal of pain and symptom management 07/2012; · 2.42 Impact Factor
  • Article: Inflammation and fatigue dimensions in advanced cancer patients and cancer survivors: An explorative study.
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    ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Inflammation may underlie cancer-related fatigue; however, there are no studies that assess the relation between fatigue and cytokines in patients with advanced disease versus patients without disease activity. Furthermore, the relation between cytokines and the separate dimensions of fatigue is unknown. Here, association of plasma levels of inflammatory markers with physical fatigue and mental fatigue was explored in advanced cancer patients and cancer survivors. METHODS: A total of 45 advanced cancer patients and 47 cancer survivors completed the subscales Physical Fatigue and Mental Fatigue of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory. Plasma concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1-ra), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and neopterin were measured. Nonparametric tests were used to assess differences in fatigue intensity and levels of inflammatory markers and to determine correlation coefficients between the fatigue dimensions and inflammatory markers. RESULTS: Compared with cancer survivors, patients with advanced cancer had higher levels of physical fatigue (median 16 vs 9, P < .001) and mental fatigue (median 11 vs 6, P = .01). They also had higher levels of all cytokines (P < .01). In advanced cancer, CRP (r = 0.49, P = .001), IL-6 (r = 0.43, P = .003), IL-1-ra (r = 0.32, P = .03), and neopterin (r = 0.25, P = .10) were correlated with physical but not with mental fatigue. In cancer survivors, only IL-1-ra was related to both physical fatigue (r = 0.24, P = .10) and mental fatigue (r = 0.35, P = .02). CONCLUSIONS: In advanced cancer, inflammation seems to be associated with physical fatigue, but not to mental fatigue. In cancer survivors, there was no convincing evidence that inflammation plays a major role in fatigue. Cancer 2012. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
    Cancer 06/2012; · 4.77 Impact Factor
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    Article: Dose dense 1 week on/1 week off temozolomide in recurrent glioma: a retrospective study.
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    ABSTRACT: Alternative temozolomide regimens have been proposed to overcome O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase mediated resistance. We investigated the efficacy and tolerability of 1 week on/1 week off temozolomide (ddTMZ) regimen in a cohort of patients treated with ddTMZ between 2005 and 2011 for the progression of a glioblastoma during or after chemo-radiation with temozolomide or a recurrence of another type of glioma after radiotherapy and at least one line of chemotherapy. Patients received ddTMZ at 100-150 mg/m(2)/d (days 1-7 and 15-21 in cycles of 28-days). All patients had a contrast enhancing lesion on MRI and the response was assessed by MRI using the RANO criteria; complete and partial responses were considered objective responses. Fifty-three patients were included. The median number of cycles of ddTMZ was 4 (range 1-12). Eight patients discontinued chemotherapy because of toxicity. Two of 24 patients with a progressive glioblastoma had an objective response; progression free survival at 6 months (PFS-6) in glioblastoma was 29%. Three of the 16 patients with a recurrent WHO grade 2 or 3 astrocytoma or oligodendroglioma or oligo-astrocytoma without combined 1p and 19q loss had an objective response and PFS-6 in these patients was 38%. Four out of the 12 evaluable patients with a recurrent WHO grade 2 or 3 oligodendroglioma or oligo-astrocytoma with combined 1p and 19q loss had an objective response; PFS-6 in these patients was 62%. This study indicates that ddTMZ is safe and effective in recurrent glioma, despite previous temozolomide and/or nitrosourea chemotherapy. Our data do not suggest superior efficacy of this schedule as compared to the standard day 1-5 every 4 weeks schedule.
    Journal of Neuro-Oncology 03/2012; 108(1):195-200. · 3.21 Impact Factor
  • Article: A combined pain consultation and pain education program decreases average and current pain and decreases interference in daily life by pain in oncology outpatients: a randomized controlled trial.
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    ABSTRACT: Pain education programs (PEP) and pain consultations (PC) have been studied to overcome patient-related and professional-related barriers in cancer pain management. These interventions were studied separately, not in combination, and half of the studies reported a significant improvement in pain. Moreover, most PEP studies did not mention the adequacy of pain treatment. We studied the effect of PC combined with PEP on pain and interference by pain with daily functioning in comparison to standard care (SC). Patients were randomly assigned to SC (n=37) or PC-PEP (n=35). PEP consisted of patient-tailored pain education and weekly monitoring of pain and side effects. We measured overall reduction in pain intensity and daily interference over an 8-week period as well as adequacy of pain treatment and adherence. The overall reduction in pain intensity and daily interference was significantly greater after randomization to PC-PEP than to SC (average pain 31% vs 20%, P=.03; current pain 30% vs 16%, P=.016; interference 20% vs 2.5%, P=.01). Adequacy of pain management did not differ between the groups. Patients were more adherent to analgesics after randomization to PC-PEP than to SC (P=.03). In conclusion, PC-PEP improves pain, daily interference, and patient adherence in oncology outpatients.
    Pain 09/2011; 152(11):2632-9. · 5.78 Impact Factor
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    Article: Efficacy of opioid rotation to continuous parenteral hydromorphone in advanced cancer patients failing on other opioids.
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    ABSTRACT: The effectiveness of an opioid rotation to parenteral hydromorphone in advanced cancer patients has never been investigated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the analgesic efficacy and side effects of parenteral hydromorphone on serious cancer-related pain. We included 104 consecutive advanced cancer patients who were extensively pretreated with opioids. They were rotated to parenteral hydromorphone because they failed to achieve adequate pain relief on other opioids. Pain intensity and side effects were daily assessed. The moment of adequate pain control was defined as the first of at least 2 consecutive days when the mean pain intensity at rest was ≤ 4 (on a 0-10 numeric rating scale) and side effects were tolerable. The reasons for rotation to parenteral hydromorphone were inadequate pain control with/without expected delivery problems due to high opioid dosages (n = 61) and intolerable side effects with persistent pain (n = 43). Adequate pain control was achieved in 86 patients (83%) within a mean of 5 days. Eight of 86 patients still had side effects, but these were scored as acceptable. The mean pain intensity at rest decreased from 5.4 [standard deviation (sd) = 2.1] to 2.4 (sd = 1.5; p < 0.001). The median failure-free treatment period was 57 days and covered a substantial part of the median survival of 78 days in the responding patients. In advanced cancer patients with serious unstable cancer-related pain refractory to other opioids, continuous parenteral administration of hydromorphone often results in long-lasting adequate pain control and should be considered even after extensive pretreatment with opioids.
    Supportive Care in Cancer 08/2011; 20(8):1639-47. · 2.09 Impact Factor
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    Article: Awareness of dying: it needs words.
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    ABSTRACT: The purpose of this research is to study to what extent dying patients are aware of the imminence of death, whether such awareness is associated with patient characteristics, symptoms and acceptance of dying, and whether medical records and nurses' and family caregivers' views on patients' awareness of dying agree. Nurses and family caregivers of 475 deceased patients from three different care settings in the southwest Netherlands were requested to fill out questionnaires. The two groups were asked whether a patient had been aware of the imminence of death. Also, medical records were screened for statements indicating that the patient had been informed of the imminence of death. Nurses completed questionnaires about 472 patients, family caregivers about 280 patients (response 59%). According to the medical records, 51% of patients had been aware of the imminence of death; according to nurses, 58%; according to family caregivers, 62%. Patients who, according to their family caregiver, had been aware of the imminence of death were significantly more often in peace with dying and felt more often that life had been worth living. Inter-rater agreement on patients' awareness of dying was fair (Cohen's kappa = 0.23-0.31). Being aware of dying is associated with acceptance of dying, which supports the idea that open communication in the dying phase can contribute to the quality of the dying process. However, views on whether or not patients are aware of the imminence of death diverge between different caregivers. This suggests that communication in the dying phase of patients is open for improvement.
    Supportive Care in Cancer 06/2011; 20(6):1227-33. · 2.09 Impact Factor
  • Article: Survey on the prevalence of pain in Dutch district nursing care.
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    ABSTRACT: According to the international literature the prevalence of chronic pain is high. In the general population prevalence rates of chronic pain vary widely, from 2% to 40%. In nursing homes and homes for the elderly, higher prevalence rates of 45% to 80% have been reported. Prevalence rates in district nursing care in general, however, are lacking. This article is a report of a one-day survey to assess the prevalence and intensity of acute and chronic pain in Dutch district nursing care. We found that the prevalence of pain in patients with district nursing care is high and similar to reported prevalence rates in nursing homes and homes for elderly.
    Journal of palliative medicine 06/2011; 14(6):696-9. · 1.84 Impact Factor
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    Article: Exploration of concerns of relatives during continuous palliative sedation of their family members with cancer.
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    ABSTRACT: Data on the experiences of relatives during continuous palliative sedation are scarce. Because these relatives may be the ones most closely involved with the patient, it is important to evaluate the possible burdens that they experience. We aimed to explore and evaluate concerns of relatives during continuous palliative sedation of their family members admitted to an acute palliative care unit. Through retrospective multidisciplinary record research, we obtained data on concerns of the relatives during the period that continuous palliative sedation took place. From October 2001 to October 2004, 45 patients died after starting continuous palliative sedation. In 51% of the cases, the relatives expressed concerns after starting the therapy. Concerns could be distinguished into three main themes: concerns about the aim of continuous palliative sedation (27%), concerns related to the well-being of the patient (29%), and concerns related to the well-being of relatives themselves (18%). Patient and sedation characteristics did not differ significantly between sedations in which relatives did and did not express concerns, except for the duration of the sedation. The median duration of the continuous palliative sedation when concerns were expressed was 46 hours, compared with 19.5 hours when this was not the case (P<0.05). Both the nature and extent of the concerns suggest that relatives are in need of continuous information and professional guidance during continuous palliative sedation of their family members. Availability of caregiver guidance and clear process documentation are crucial and indispensable in providing this.
    Journal of pain and symptom management 06/2009; 38(3):452-9. · 2.42 Impact Factor
  • Article: A systematic review on barriers hindering adequate cancer pain management and interventions to reduce them: a critical appraisal.
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    ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is to identify the major barriers hindering adequate pain management and critically review interventions aiming to overcome them. We searched relevant literature on PubMed published between January 1986 and April 2007. The most frequently mentioned barriers for both patients and professionals were knowledge deficits, inadequate pain assessment and misconceptions regarding pain. Four interventions were identified: patient education, professional education, pain assessment and pain consultation. These interventions were never combined in multidisciplinary study protocols. Most RCTs included small groups of patients and reported no power analysis. Studies on professional education and pain assessment did not evaluate patients' outcomes. In 5 of 11 RCTs on patient education, pain intensity decreased statistically significantly. In two RCTs on pain consultation, patients' pain decreased statistically significantly, although the adequacy of pain treatment did not change. In conclusion, international guidelines on multidisciplinary interventions in pain management are partly substantiated by clinical trials.
    European journal of cancer (Oxford, England: 1990) 03/2009; 45(8):1370-80. · 4.12 Impact Factor
  • Article: Palliative sedation in a specialized unit for acute palliative care in a cancer hospital: comparing patients dying with and without palliative sedation.
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    ABSTRACT: Palliative sedation is undergoing extensive debate. The aims of this study were to describe the practice of palliative sedation at a specialized acute palliative care unit and to study whether patients who received palliative sedation differed from patients who did not. We performed a systematic retrospective analysis of the medical and nursing records of all 157 cancer patients who died at the acute palliative care unit between 2001 and 2005. Palliative sedation, defined as continuous deep sedation prior to death, was used for 43% of all deceased patients. In 87% of the sedated patients, it was started in the last two days before death. Sedated and nonsedated patients did not differ in survival after admission (eight days vs. seven days, P=0.12). Sedated patients were younger (55 years vs. 59 years, P=0.04) and more often had malignancies of the digestive tract (P<0.01). In both groups, common symptoms at admission were pain (79% vs. 87%, P=0.23), constipation, (40% vs. 48%, P=0.46), and dyspnea (32% vs. 29%, P=0.77). On the day that palliative sedation was started, sedated patients more often suffered from dyspnea and delirium than nonsedated patients at a comparable day before death. The most important indications for palliative sedation were terminal restlessness (60%) and dyspnea (46%). We conclude that at the studied acute palliative care unit, patients who ultimately received palliative sedation did not have symptoms different than nonsedated patients at admission, but on the day at which the sedation was started, they suffered more often from delirium and dyspnea.
    Journal of pain and symptom management 05/2008; 36(3):228-34. · 2.42 Impact Factor
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    Article: Pain prevalence and characteristics in three Dutch residential homes.
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    ABSTRACT: In Anglo-Saxon countries, high prevalence rates of pain have been reported for elderly living in nursing homes, residential homes and for community-dwelling elderly. No information on pain prevalence is available for elderly living in Dutch residential homes. We performed an explorative study on pain prevalence, characteristics and treatment in three residential homes in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Residents were interviewed using a standardized pain questionnaire. The overall prevalence of pain was 69%. In case of pain, it was chronic in 93% of residents. Present pain and mean pain during the preceding week were substantial (numeric rating scale 4) in 68% and 85% of residents, respectively. Of the residents with pain, 22% did not receive any analgesics and only 3% was prescribed a strong opioid. When analgesics were prescribed, they were given only 'as needed' in 31% of residents. In a majority of residents, pain interfered with daily living and mood. Almost 60% of the elderly was convinced that pain is a part of ageing, 70% indicated that they did not always report their pain to the caregivers. Thirty-seven percent was satisfied with the caregivers' and 39% with the doctors' attention towards pain. The pain prevalence rate in Dutch residential homes is similar to rates found in other Anglo-Saxon countries. Furthermore, they are also comparable to rates reported from European nursing homes. Pain treatment is insufficient and although pain interferes with daily activities and mood, elderly tend to accept pain as an unavoidable part of aging.
    European journal of pain (London, England) 03/2008; 12(7):910-6. · 3.37 Impact Factor
  • Article: Prognostic value of health-related quality-of-life data in predicting survival in patients with anaplastic oligodendrogliomas, from a phase III EORTC brain cancer group study.
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    ABSTRACT: This is one of a few studies that have explored the value of baseline symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in predicting survival in patients with brain cancer. Baseline HRQOL scores (from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer [EORTC] Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 and the EORTC Brain Cancer Module) were examined in 247 patients with anaplastic oligodendrogliomas to determine the relationship with overall survival by using Cox proportional hazards regression models. Refined techniques as the bootstrap resampling procedure and the computation of C indexes and R2 coefficients were used to explore the stability of the models as well as better assess the potential benefit of using HRQOL to predict survival in clinical practice and research. Classical analysis controlled for major clinical prognostic factors selected emotional functioning (P = .0016), communication deficit (P = .0261), future uncertainty (P = .0481), and weakness of legs (P = .0001) as statistically significant prognostic factors of survival. However, several issues question the validity of these findings and no single model was found to be preferable over all others. C indexes, which estimate the probability of a model to correctly predict which patient among a randomly chosen pair of patients will survive longer, and R2 coefficients, which measure the proportion of variability explained by the model, did not exhibit major improvement when adding selected or all HRQOL scores to clinical factors. While classical techniques lead to positive results, more refined analyses suggest that baseline HRQOL scores add relatively little to clinical factors to predict survival. These results may have implications for future use of HRQOL as a prognostic factor for patients with cancer.
    Journal of Clinical Oncology 01/2008; 25(36):5731-7. · 18.37 Impact Factor
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    Article: Analgesic adherence measurement in cancer patients: comparison between electronic monitoring and diary.
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    ABSTRACT: Adherence to analgesics in cancer patients has scarcely been studied. In this study, the Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS) and medication diaries were compared with respect to feasibility and adherence measurements. Forty-six outpatients with nociceptive pain caused by cancer were asked to use MEMS for their analgesics and to record their medication usage in a diary for four weeks. Seventy-nine percent of the patients used MEMS for the full four-week period; 70% did so for the diary. The majority of patients were satisfied with both MEMS and diary. Adherence data assessed by MEMS and diary were comparable. Patients used the amount of analgesics adequately (taking adherence: 87%) but took them irregularly (timing adherence: 53%). Subgroup analyses in patients using single and multiple analgesic regimens confirmed the comparable suitability of both methods. MEMS and a medication diary are equally useful for analgesic adherence measurement in cancer patients with pain.
    Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 01/2008; 34(6):639-47. · 2.50 Impact Factor
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    Article: Dying at home or in an institution: perspectives of Dutch physicians and bereaved relatives.
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    ABSTRACT: Previous studies have shown that most people prefer to die at their own home. We investigated whether physicians or bereaved relatives in retrospect differently appreciate the dying of patients in an institution or at home. Of 128 patients with incurable cancer who were followed in the last phase of their lives, 103 passed away during follow-up. After death, physicians filled out a written questionnaire for 102 of these patients, and 63 bereaved relatives were personally interviewed. Of 103 patients, 49 died in an institution (mostly a hospital), and 54 died at home (or in two cases in a home-like situation). Patients who had been living with a partner relatively often died at home. Bereaved relatives knew of the patient's wish to die at home in 25 out of 63 cases; 20 of these patients actually died at home. Thirty-one patients had no known preference concerning their place of dying. Most symptoms and the care provided to address them were equally prevalent in patients dying in an institution and patients dying at home. Bereaved relatives were in general quite satisfied about the provision of medical and nursing care in both settings. We conclude that most patients' preferences concerning the place of dying can be met. In about half of all cases, patients do not seem to have a clear preference concerning their place of dying, which is apparently not a major concern for many people. We found no indication that dying in an institution or at home involves major differences in the process and quality of dying.
    Supportive Care Cancer 01/2008; 15(12):1413-21. · 2.60 Impact Factor
  • Article: The effects of analgesic prescription and patient adherence on pain in a dutch outpatient cancer population.
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    ABSTRACT: Insufficient awareness of cancer pain, including breakthrough pain, inadequate analgesic prescriptions, and nonadherence contribute to inadequate cancer pain management. There are insufficient data about the contribution of each of these factors. In a cross-sectional survey among 915 adult cancer outpatients, pain was assessed by the Brief Pain Inventory. Breakthrough pain was defined as a worst pain intensity rated as "7 or more" and an average pain intensity rated as "6 or less" in patients on "around-the-clock" (ATC) analgesics. The Pain Management Index (PMI) was calculated to measure the quality of treatment. Adherence was considered inadequate when below 100% of the dose prescribed. Pain was present in 27% of patients. Worst pain was rated as moderate in 26%, and as severe in 54%. Breakthrough pain was present in 45% of patients with ATC medication. The PMI indicated inadequate treatment in 65% of patients. The proportions of patients adherent to ATC analgesics varied from 59% (tramadol) to 91% (Step 3 opioids). The management of cancer pain will benefit most from improving analgesic prescriptions and patient adherence.
    Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 12/2007; 34(5):523-31. · 2.50 Impact Factor
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    Article: Multidimensional fatigue and its correlates in hospitalised advanced cancer patients.
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    ABSTRACT: Although fatigue is a multidimensional concept, multidimensional fatigue is rarely investigated in hospitalised cancer patients. We determined the levels and correlates of multidimensional fatigue in 100 advanced cancer patients admitted for symptom control. Fatigue dimensions were general fatigue (GF), physical fatigue (PF), reduced activity (RA), reduced motivation (RM) and mental fatigue (MF). Investigated correlates were tumour load, prior anti-tumour treatment, medication use, haemoglobin levels, serum biochemical variables, physical symptoms and mood. Median GF, PF and RA scores were very high; median RM and MF scores were moderate, and differed from the GF, PF and RA scores. Multiple regression analyses showed that symptoms and mood correlated with all fatigue dimensions. Each fatigue dimension had different relationships with other factors. Hospitalised advanced cancer patients differ in fatigue levels depending on the fatigue dimension, and each fatigue dimension has different correlates. The results confirm that fatigue should be regarded as a multidimensional concept.
    European Journal of Cancer 05/2007; 43(6):1030-6. · 5.54 Impact Factor
  • Article: Changes in and correlates of individual quality of life in advanced cancer patients admitted to an academic unit for palliative care.
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    ABSTRACT: Changes in individual quality of life (IQoL) and its correlates in patients admitted to an academic palliative care unit are reported. Correlates tested were pain, fatigue, and reconceptualization (changes in content of quality of life, a measure of adaptation). IQoL was measured with a structured interview method that derives an IQoL score from evaluations of individually nominated life areas. Twenty-nine patients were included in the study and interviewed shortly after unit admission. Sixteen patients were interviewed before discharge (more than 1 week between interviews). The results show that mean IQoL scores improved notably. Pain and IQoL correlated negatively and moderately at admission, and correlations between fatigue and pain at discharge and IQoL were negative and strong. An increasing number of changes in life areas was moderately associated with worsening IQoL. Life area's most often nominated were relationships with family members and friends, symptoms and aspects related to maintaining control.
    Palliative Medicine 05/2007; 21(3):199-205. · 2.38 Impact Factor
  • Article: Audit of the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient in a Dutch cancer hospital.
    Journal of palliative care 02/2006; 22(4):305-8. · 0.93 Impact Factor