End of Life Resources

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Welcome to the End-of-Life Resources page; a library of information meant to assist physicians, caregivers, and patients find the information they need to better carry out end-of-life care.  Can't find what you're looking for?  Check back in soon becuse we are adding resources daily to continue populating the end-of-life resource categories. 

You may use the categories below to browse topics and resources or use the "Search EOLR" function on the left sidebar. 

# 002 Converting to/from Transdermal Fentanyl, 2nd ed Medical College of Wisconsin (EPERC)
Background:  what dose of the transdermal fentanyl patch (DuragesicTM) is equianalgesic to a 3 mg/hr morphine...
# 008 Morphine and Hastened Death, 2nd ed Medical College of Wisconsin (EPERC)
Question:  What is the distinction between the use of morphine at the end of life to control symptoms and euthanasia/...
# 018 Short-Acting Oral Opioid Dosing Intervals, 2nd ed Medical College of Wisconsin (EPERC)
Background:  Oral opioids are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in palliative care. Despite national analgesic...
# 020 Opioid Dose Escalation, 2nd ed Medical College of Wisconsin (EPERC)
Background:   A common question from trainees is how fast, and by how much, can opioids be safely dose escalated? I...
# 215 Opioid Poorly Responsive Cancer Pain Medical College of Wisconsin (EPERC)
Background:   Relief of cancer pain from opioids is rarely all or nothing; most patients experience some degree of...
#221 Treatment of Pain in Patients Taking Buprenorphine for Opioid Addiction Medical College of Wisconsin (EPERC)
Background:  This Fast Fact discusses treating pain in patients using buprenorphine for opioid addiction. ...
A Pilot Study Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Modafinal for Cancer-Related Fatigue Journal of Palliative Medicine
Abstract:  Fatigue is a common symptom that lowers the quality of life of patients with cancer, affecting between 60%...
Chemotherapy at the end of life
The following is a Blog entry from Drew Rosielle MD, posted on Pallimed. It's an interesting reflection on an article from...
Chronic Pain: Levorphanol, Methadone, and the N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor Journal of Palliative Medicine
 This article from the Journal of Palliative Medicine discusses the use of Levorphanol and Methadone as an NMDA...
Hard Choice for a Comfortable Death: Sedation The New York Times
This is an interesting article on terminal sedation (part of a series) that was featured on the front page of the New York...
Heart Failure and Palliative Care: Implications in Practice Journal of Palliative Medicine
  Abstract:  The number of people with heart failure is continually rising. Despite continued medical advances...
Impact of a new palliative care consultation team on opioid prescription in a University Hospital BMC Palliative Care
One way to measure the effectiveness of a palliative care team would be to consider its effect on the consumption of opioids...
Palliative Care Perspectives Book
This book provides excellent perspective on end-of-life care and the purpose and quality one should look for in palliative...
Personalized Medicine vs. Advanced Cancer Web MD
This article published on WebMD talks about the use of personalized medicine when dealing with advanced cancers that are not...
Rethinking Guidelines for the use of Palliative Sedation The Hastings Center Report
The use of  continuous palliative sedation to unconsciousness rests on a consensus that leads quickly to controversy....
The Use of Opioids in the Last Week of Life in an Acute Palliative Care Unit. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
Abstract:  The aim of this survey was to assess the opioid use in the last week of life of cancer patients admitted at...