Oxford Handbook of Palliative Care (Oxford Medical Handbooks)

Updated throughout with an additional emphasis on nursing care, this resource is a concise and authoritative guide to modern palliative care. Easily accessible, it's ideal for the busy professional managing patients with end of life care needs. Contents 1 Contributors 1 Abbreviations 1 Introduction 1 1 Ethical issues 1 2 Communication: Breaking bad news 1 3 Research 1 a: Research in palliative care 1 b: Quality of life 1 4 Principles of drug use in palliative care 1 a: The use of drugs beyond licence 1 b: Drug interactions in palliative care 1 c: Syringe drivers 1 d: Antibiotics in palliative care 1 e: Non-medical prescribing 1 5 Oncology and palliative care 1 6 Symptom management 1 a: The management of pain 1 b: Gastrointestinal symptoms 1 c: Cachexia, anorexia and fatigue 1 d: Sweating and fever 1 e: Respiratory symptoms 1 f: Skin problems in palliative care 1 g: Genitourinary problems 1 h: Palliation of head and neck cancer 1 i: Endocrine and metabolic complications of advanced cancer 1 j: Neurological problems in advanced cancer 1 k: Sleep disorders 1 l: Palliative haematological aspects 1 m: Psychiatric symptoms in palliative care 1 7 Paediatric palliative care 1 8 Palliative care in non-malignant disease 1 a: Palliative care in non-malignant respiratory disease 1 b: Heart failure 1 c: Palliative care in non-malignant neurological disease 1 d: Renal failure 1 e: AIDS in adults 1 f: Palliation in the care of the elderly 1 9 Spiritual care 1 10 The contribution to palliative care of allied health professions 1 a: Rehabilitation 1 b: Occupational therapy 1 c: Dietetics and nutrition 1 d: Physiotherapy 1 e: Speech and language therapy 1 f: Clinical and other applied psychology in palliative care 1 g: Social work 1 h: Chaplaincy 1 i: Pharmacy 1 j: Art therapy 1 k: Music therapy 1 11 Complementary and alternative medicine in palliative care 1 12 Palliative care in the home 1 13 Hospital liaison palliative care 1 14 Palliative care for people with learning disabilities 1 15 Emergencies in palliative care 1 16 The terminal phase 1 17 Bereavement 1 18 Self-care for health professionals 1 19 Miscellaneous 1 a: Legal and professional standards of care 1 b: Death certification and referral to the coroner 1 c: Fitness to drive 1 d: Dermatomes 1 e: Genograms 1 f: Peripheral nerve assessment 1 g: Travelling abroad 1 h: Tissue donation 1 i: Help and advice for patients 1 j: Laboratory reference values 1 Index 1 A 1 B 1 C 1 D 1 E 1 F 1 G 1 H 1 I 1 J 1 K 1 L 1 M 1 N 1 O 1 P 1 Q 1 R 1 S 1 T 1 U 1 V 1 W 1 X 1 Z 1
The Oxford Handbook of Palliative Care covers all aspects of palliative care in a concise and succinct format suited to busy professionals who need to access key information in their daily care of patients.

This new edition is revised throughout, with an additional emphasis on the nursing aspects of Palliative Care. The authors have included new sections on international palliative care, self care and liaison palliative care in acute hospitals. There is also extended material on the use of antibiotics, palliative care research and quality of life issues.

The second edition of the Oxford Handbook of Palliative Care continues to be an invaluable resource for all health professionals working with adults, children and families with palliative care needs.

This practical guide briefly covers the historical and epidemiological background of palliative care and the growth of palliative medicine as a specialty, before dealing with major physical, psychological, spiritual, and symptom management issues from diagnosis to bereavement care