Medication Reconciliation in Oncological Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Medication reconciliation is considered to be an important strategy for increasing the safety of medication use. However, few studies have been carried out showing the effect of a medication reconciliation program on the incidence of reconciliation errors (REs) in oncological patients treated in the outpatient setting. OBJECTIVE: To measure the effect of a medication reconciliation program on the incidence of reconciliation error that reached the patient (RERP) in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy as outpatients. METHODS: A randomized, prospective, controlled study was carried out to identify the proportion of patients with at least 1 RERP. Medication reconciliation (intervention group) was compared with standard practice (control group) in patients starting new chemotherapy and who were receiving at least 1 home medication before the start of chemotherapy. A prespecified analysis of factors capable of influencing the occurrence of RE in oncological patients was also carried out. RESULTS: A total of 147 patients were included (76 in the intervention group and 71 controls) in this study. There were 3 (4%) patients with RERP (primary endpoint) in the intervention group and 21 (30%) patients in the control group (relative risk [RR] = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.04-0.43; P = 0.0009). The prespecified analysis of the effects of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG), Charlson Comorbidity Index score, and degree of poly-medication upon the number of patients with RE showed the Charlson Comorbidity Index to be unrelated to RE occurrence. However, the risk of RE was greater in patients with ECOG ≥ 2 (RR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.4-3.4; P = 0.018) and among patients with major poly-medication (RR = 2.49, 95% CI = 1.52-4.09; P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Medication reconciliation results in a marked decrease in RERP in cancer patients. The factors that may influence RE occurrence in oncological patients have not been fully established, although parameters such as the degree of poly-medication and performance status may play a role. DISCLOSURES: No outside funding supported this study. The authors declare that they have no affiliations with or financial interests in any company, product, or service described in the manuscript. Study concept and design were contributed by Sierra-Sánchez, Martínez-Bautista, Baena-Cañada, and González-Carrascosa Vega. Martínez-Bautista, García-Martín, Suárez-Carrascosa, and González-Carrascosa Vega collected the data, which was interpreted by Sierra-Sánchez, Martínez-Bautista, Baena-Cañada, and González-Carrascosa Vega. The manuscript was written by Sierra-Sánchez and González-Carrascosa Vega and revised by Sierra-Sánchez, Martínez-Bautista, Baena-Cañada, and González-Carrascosa Vega.

Manejo del dolor en el paciente oncológico pediátrico y factores que influyen en su percepción / Pain management in the pediatric oncological patient and factors influencing its perception

El dolor es una característica subjetiva que presentan muchos pacientes durante su estancia hospitalaria. La población pediátrica presenta unas características fisiológicas y psicológicas diferentes a la de los adultos, si a esto se le suma un proceso oncológico en el cuál son sometidos a numerosas experiencias dolorosas durante su diagnóstico y tratamiento, se hace de vital importancia un adecuado manejo del dolor. El objetivo del presente trabajo es revisar los principales factores que influyen en la percepción del dolor oncológico en el paciente pediátrico y las medidas, tanto farmacológicas no, que son necesarias tener en cuenta para un correcto manejo del dolor. Para ello se realizó una revisión de publicaciones científicas en la base de datos MEDLINE durante los últimos 25 años. Se concluye que la percepción del dolor oncológico en pediatría tiene una componente multifactorial, por otro lado, además de un uso adecuado de las medidas farmacológicas, las medidas no farmacológicas son muy importantes para el abordaje integral del dolor(AU)

Pain is a subjective characteristic found in many patients during their hospital stay. Pediatric population presents physiological and psychological characteristics different from those of the adults. Added to this, if a cancer process is present, for which they are subjected to numerous painful experiences during their diagnosis and treatment, adequate pain management is vital. The objective of this paper was to review the main factors that influence the perception of cancer pain in the pediatric patient and both non-pharmacological and pharmacological measures that are necessary to take into account for proper pain management. To this end, a literature review was made in MEDLINE database, which covered the scientific publications of the last 25 years. It can be concluded that oncological pain perception has a multifactoral component. Furthermore, in addition to appropriate use of pharmacologic measures, non-pharmacological actions are very important for a comprehensive approach to pain(AU)