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The article discusses the common causes of nausea and vomiting in patients with advanced cancer and the commonly used anti-emetics. It provides cases to improve an understanding of the mechanisms behind nausea and vomiting and offers appropriate treatment strategy. Topics discussed include the vomiting centre in the brainstem that receives emetogenic signals from 4 main areas such as cerebral cortex, vestibular nuclei and gastrointestinal tract and commonly used anti-emetics like areprepitant.

Objective: The objective of this review is to investigate the use of the subcutaneous route of administration of analgesics, common practice within palliative medicine. Design: Systematic review using consensus approach, direct comparison of subcutaneous route with intravenous and intramuscular routes. Results: The limited available evidence demonstrates non-inferiority of the subcutaneous route in both cancer patients and those post-surgery. Pain management is comparable to other routes. Route-related side effects are rare and systemic side effects are comparable. Conclusion: Pain management is a critical role of palliative medicine. The subcutaneous route of administration offers a viable option for the delivery of parenteral analgesia within all settings, including the community. This review supports current practice, demonstrating equivalence with more invasive routes of administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]