Providing palliative care closer to home: a retrospective analysis from a remote Australian hospital.

BACKGROUND: Rural and remote patients have reduced access to palliative care, often resulting in inter-hospital transfers and death a long way from home and family. Katherine Hospital (KH), a 50-bed hospital services a population with high Aboriginality who experience this issue. AIMS: To characterise trends in mortality and transfers at a remote hospital in reference to increasing capacity to provide palliative care. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of deaths in patients over 18 years of age, admitted between 2008 and 2018 at KH, Northern Territory. Outcome measures include number of deaths, aeromedical transfers to tertiary facility, palliative care episodes, demographics including Aboriginality, admission data and comorbidity. Statistical analysis included unpaired t-test, chi-square test and regression analysis. RESULTS: The number of deaths in KH increased from 23 (0.88% of inpatient admissions) in 2011 to 52 in 2018 (1.7%). During the same period, the proportion of all deaths classified as palliative increased from 51.4 to 66.0% (P = 0.001), with fewer deaths occurring in the emergency department (17.2-1.4% for the last 3 years, R = 0.75, P = 0.008). The number of aeromedical transfers of patients from KH to tertiary centres decreased from 769 (10.4% of all admissions) in 2011 to 434 (3.4%) in 2018 (P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Increasing the capacity of a remote hospital to provide palliative care allowed more patients to die closer to home and decreased inappropriate aeromedical retrievals. An increased in-hospital mortality rate should not be misinterpreted as reflecting suboptimal care if palliative intent, patients' wishes and non-clinical risk factors have not been ascertained.

Doctor, I am sweating on just one side of my body: unilateral hyperhidrosis associated with mesothelioma.

Unilateral hyperhidrosis is rare and should prompt a thorough review for potentially serious underlying etiologies. Available treatments for unilateral hyperhidrosis secondary to mesothelioma are limited and its presence as a symptom usually signifies advanced disease and a poor prognosis.

Hip fractures and dementia: clinical decisions for the future.

Severe dementia is a life-limiting condition; hip fractures are more common in patients who have dementia. This study outlines the case of a 92-year-old female with severe dementia who sustained a hip fracture. Despite having a terminal diagnosis (severe dementia and hip fracture) and poor premorbid quality of life, she had a life-prolonging surgery. The report outlines issues around treatment options in such circumstances, informed consent and substitute decision-making. The authors propose a 'goals of care' approach to manage patients in whom the best treatment is unclear, during their attendance to the emergency department. It is suggested that utilization of such a model may help with substitute decision-making and true informed consent.

Squamous carcinoma of the lung presenting as migraine-type headache: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: Orthostatic hypotension has long been recognised as a paraneoplastic effect of lung cancer. Lung cancer presenting with orthostatic hypotension and migraine-type headaches has not been previously described in the literature. CASE REPORT: A 62-year-old Caucasian male presented with headaches, typical of his migraine, after a 30-year migraine-free period. An examination revealed a significant postural drop in BP with reflex tachycardia and no other features of dysautonomia. Investigations showed a metastatic squamous cell lung cancer. Pharmacological treatment of orthostatic hypotension resolved the migraine-type headaches. DISCUSSION: Orthostatic hypotension is associated with lung cancer. Prompt pharmacological treatment in patients not responding to non-pharmacological therapy can provide relief from disabling symptoms of orthostatic hypotension. In this patient, this included symptoms consistent with migraine-type headaches.