Advances in Palliative Medicine 2008, tom 7, nr 1

Cachexia is one of the most disturbing symptom in advanced malignant neoplasms, however the classification of cachexia is currently being revised to improve design of clinical trials and patient care [1]. Assessment of cachexia requires multimodal subjective instruments, and outcome monitoring necessitate varies cofactors to be considered. Baczyk et al. performed a broad analysis of factors potentially contributing to cachexia. Authors found a correlation between weight loss and worse pain control, higher grade of depression and higher serum level of cortisol...

The main goal of palliative care is to alleviate pain, as well as improving the quality of life. Pain treatment should be interdisciplinary, including physical aspect-pharmacology and physical exercises, as well as psychological and spiritual...

Many patients with advanced disease suffer of pain. Not all this pain is induced by the disease itself like tumour growth or infiltration of the nerves. Some of the pains are due to debilitation and degeneration due to immobilisation, atrophy and poor nutrition and are only indirectly related to the progression of the disease...

The problem of malnutrition concerns most patients in the advanced stages of cancer. Nutrition and food are synonymous with the continuation of life for patients and their families and friends...

Cough is one of the most common symptoms in chronic pulmonary disease and cancer but we are still lacking a practical and accurate method for its objective evaluation. The aim of our experiment was to determine a new method of objective cough measurement using the time domain and a spectral analysis of body surface vibration and cough-generated sound...

The aim of the study was to establish correlation between the grade of cachexia and possible endocrine and non endocrine factors and the type of therapy (NSAID, corticosteroids, progestagens). 98 patients aged 36–70 years (mean— 55 years) with various degree of cancer cachexia were qualified to the study...

A 62-year-old woman admitted to the hospital with dyspnoea, elevated body temperature, cough for two days. Patient has been treated for alcoholic hepatic sclerosis for 12 years and hepatitis C infection for 5 years. The chest X-ray revealed hydrothorax of right pleura..