Palliative Care

Presentation Slides

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Clinical Study

Consuming chocolate with higher cocoa content can improve the nutritional status and functionality of older cancer patients in palliative care.

2022 BMC Palliative Care Effect of chocolate on older patients with cancer in palliative care: a randomised controlled study
Vettori JC, da-Silva LG, Pfrimer K, Jordão AA, Louzada-Junior P, Moriguti JC, Ferriolli E, Lima NKC

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Acupuncture may be an effective and safe treatment associated with pain reduction in the palliative care of patients with cancer.

2021 BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care Acupuncture for palliative cancer pain management: systematic review
Yang J, Wahner-Roedler DL, Zhou X, et al.

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Acupuncture shows promising evidence in cancer palliative care, particularly in reducing therapy-induced side effects and cancer pain.

2013 Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine Effectiveness of acupuncture for palliative care in cancer patients: A systematic review
Lian, WL., Pan, Mq., Zhou, Dh. & Zhang, ZJ.

Executive Summary

Write an executive summary in the form of a blog article on the topic of "Research into Chinese medicine treatment for Palliative Care" summarising the research below and using language that can be easily understood by patients and avoiding medical jargon using a professional and caring tone of voice.

Write an executive summary in the form of a blog article on the topic of "Researched Chinese medicine treatments for Palliative Care" summarising the research below in an objective and easy to understand way, and using language that can be easily understood by patients. Group the article into Chinese medicine treatments first, followed by nutrition and other treatments. Avoid using medical jargon and use a professional and caring tone of voice.

Write me a concise but easy to understand executive summary on the topic of "Chinese medicine treatments for Palliative Care" based on the following research that I will give you. Your summary should be 2 paragraphs long in Australian English spelling and include references to the studies.

A Clinical Study published in 2022 in the journal BMC Palliative Care found that Consuming chocolate with higher cocoa content can improve the nutritional status and functionality of older cancer patients in palliative care. In the conducted study, 46 older cancer patients under palliative care were divided into three groups. The control group did not have a change in their diet (CG, 15 patients). The other two groups were given intervention foods—55% cocoa chocolate (IG1, 16 patients) and white chocolate (IG2, 15 patients)—for a duration of four weeks. The primary outcome was assessed based on changes in the patients' nutritional status, as measured by the Mini Nutritional Assessment tool. Other factors examined included food consumption, body measurements, body composition, laboratory parameters, and quality of life, using the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer instrument. Discussion of the results revealed that the group consuming 55% cocoa chocolate showed an improvement in nutritional scores and functionality, as evidenced by the Mini Nutritional Assessment and the quality of life scores respectively. On the other hand, the group consuming white chocolate displayed decreased oxidative stress levels. However, body composition and anthropometric measurements remained largely unchanged across all three groups.

A Systematic Review published in 2021 in the journal BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care found that Acupuncture may be an effective and safe treatment associated with pain reduction in the palliative care of patients with cancer. Five studies (n=189) were included in this systematic review. Results indicated a favourable effect of acupuncture on pain relief in palliative care for patients with cancer. According to OCEBM 2011 Levels of Evidence, they were level 2 in one case (20%), level 3 in two cases (40%) and level 4 in the remaining (40%). Low-level evidence adversely affects the reliability of findings. Acupuncture may be an effective and safe treatment associated with pain reduction in the palliative care of patients with cancer. Further high-quality, adequately powered studies are needed in the future.

A Systematic Review published in 2013 in the journal Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine found that Acupuncture shows promising evidence in cancer palliative care, particularly in reducing therapy-induced side effects and cancer pain. The study examined data from 33 randomized clinical trials that investigated the effectiveness of acupuncture in palliative care for cancer patients. The data were collected from seven different databases dating up to December 2010. The extraction and validation process was overseen by two independent reviewers who also assessed the trials using the Jadad scale. The trials evaluated revealed diverse impacts of acupuncture on numerous cancer-related conditions. These include effects on side effects arising from chemotherapy or radiotherapy, cancer pain, post-operative urinary retention and other aspects of quality of life. The results showed promising potential for acupuncture being beneficial in palliative care, particularly in the reduction of chemotherapy or radiotherapy-induced side effects, and pain related to cancer.

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