In response to feedback from hospice nurses and leadership, Enclara pharmacists took a “back to basics” approach with their Palliative Pearls case studies in 2024. The goal of this approach is to provide in-depth knowledge on hospice prescribing, helping nurses new to hospice master best practices. However, even longtime hospice professionals can benefit from a fresh look at these concepts.
We received great feedback on this content, so it’s no surprise that our top three articles this year were all part of the “back to basics” series. These are great resources to review and share with colleagues. Please take a look, and be sure to peruse all our 2024 case studies, which cover topics including COPD, loss of appetite, gastrointestinal issues, and gender-affirming end-of-life care.
You can sign up to receive Palliative Pearls in your inbox each month, plus Clinical Alerts and more. In the meantime, here are the three most-read Palliative Pearls articles of 2024:
Understanding Advanced Dementia – Back to Basics
Dementia is characterized by a decline in cognition involving one or more cognitive domains (learning and memory, language, executive function, complex attention, perceptual-motor, social cognition).¹ Managing patients with dementia requires proper identification of the stage of dementia and the associated care issues to prevent complications, manage symptoms and support caregivers.²
Back to Basics: Managing Noisy Breathing (“Death Rattle”) at the End of Life
Lucille is a 94-year-old woman with advanced dementia who resides in a nursing home. Her score of 7b in the Functional Assessment Staging Test (FAST) means her speech ability is limited to only a single word. Lucille’s family enrolled her in hospice after she was hospitalized for pneumonia two months earlier. They request comfort measures only and no additional antibiotics or hospitalizations.
Pain Management: Back to the Basics
KP is a 66-year-old female with metastatic breast cancer and gastroesophageal reflux disease, who has recently been admitted to hospice. During the initial assessment, she reported persistent pain throughout the day and night, describing it as a dull pain and pressure in her bones, along with pronounced discomfort throughout the surrounding areas. KP’s pain has progressively worsened over the past month.
