Electric hand warmer versus observation to avoid discomfort during scalp cooling for chemotherapy-induced alopecia prevention: a randomized study.

Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is a challenge in the management of cancer patients. Scalp cooling (SC) leads to reduction in CIA, however it is associated with significant adverse events, leading to 3-13% discontinuation rates. This pilot study evaluated the role of Electric Hand Warmers (EHW) on thermal (TC), sensorial (SCo) and general comfort (GC) in patients with breast cancer (BC) undergoing chemotherapy and SC to reduce CIA. Patients were randomly assigned to EHW use or observation. TC, SCo and GC were evaluated after each chemotherapy infusion. Favorable outcomes in both TC and SCo defined a positive result on GC. We analysed the impact of age, alopecia, chemotherapy regimen and EHW use in the different comfort scales using a Logistic Regression (LR) model. Forty women with early breast cancer were randomly assigned to EHW (n = 20) or observation (n = 20) during neo(adjuvant) chemotherapy. Median age was 53 years. In the EHW arm, favorable thermal response was reported by 79% versus 50% in the control arm (odds ratio [OR] 3.79, p < 0.001). SCo was satisfactory in 82% in the EHW arm versus 74% in the control arm (OR 1.62, p = 0.1). Overall, 73% in the EHW arm had favorable GC versus 44% in the control arm (OR 3.4, p < 0.001). Age, alopecia, and chemotherapy regimen did not impact on comfort measures. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the use of an EHW has a consistent favorable impact on TC and GC of BC patients under SC technology to prevent CIA.

[Perceptions of the multi-professional team on the implementation of palliative care in intensive care units]. / Concepções da equipe multiprofissional sobre a implementação dos cuidados paliativos na unidade de terapia intensiva.

The scope of this paper was to analyze the perceptions of the multi-professional team on the implementation of palliative care in an adult intensive care unit. An exploratory-descriptive study using a qualitative approach was conducted with 14 health professionals from a public teaching hospital. The information was collected between February and April 2012, by means of semi-structured interviews and non-participatory observation interpreted using content analysis. Three thematic categories were identified: Care for terminal patients in an ICU fostering physical comfort; Lack of preparation of the team in dealing with terminal patients; and Challenges of palliative care practices in the intensive care environment. The interviewed parties reported having some knowledge of the proposal for palliative care though divergences were observed in the therapeutic conduct of the team in the care provided, demonstrating a lack of interaction and communication among the professionals. The drafting of a national policy to promote care for terminally ill patients is necessary, as well as ongoing training of professionals and the creation of care protocols for promoting the comfort of the patients and their families during the end of life phase.