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How Are Palliative Care Cancer Populations Characterized in Randomized Controlled Trials? A Literature Review.
- Source :
-
Journal of Pain & Symptom Management . May2014, Vol. 47 Issue 5, p906-914.e17. 0p. - Publication Year :
- 2014
-
Abstract
- Abstract: Context: The difficulties in defining a palliative care patient accentuate the need to provide stringent descriptions of the patient population in palliative care research. Objectives: To conduct a systematic literature review with the aim of identifying which key variables have been used to describe adult palliative care cancer populations in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: The data sources used were MEDLINE (1950 to January 25, 2010) and Embase (1980 to January 25, 2010), limited to RCTs in adult cancer patients with incurable disease. Forty-three variables were systematically extracted from the eligible articles. Results: The review includes 336 articles reporting RCTs in palliative care cancer patients. Age (98%), gender (90%), cancer diagnosis (89%), performance status (45%), and survival (45%) were the most frequently reported variables. A large number of other variables were much less frequently reported. Conclusion: A substantial variation exists in how palliative care cancer populations are described in RCTs. Few variables are consistently registered and reported. There is a clear need to standardize the reporting. The results from this work will serve as the basis for an international Delphi process with the aim of reaching consensus on a minimum set of descriptors to characterize a palliative care cancer population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 08853924
- Volume :
- 47
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Pain & Symptom Management
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 95926821
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2013.06.005