Textbook of Palliative Medicine

Description
Textbook of Palliative Medicine provides an alternative, truly international approach to this
rapidly growing specialty. This textbook fills a niche with its evidence-based, multi-professional
approach and global perspective ensured by the international team of editors and contributing
authors. In the absence of an international `curriculum` for the study of palliative medicine, this
textbook provides essential guidance for those both embarking upon a career in palliative medicine
or already established in the field, and the structure and content have been constructed very much
with this in mind.
With an emphasis on providing a service anywhere in the world, including the important issue of
palliative care in the developing nations, Textbook of Palliative Medicine offers a genuine
alternative to the narrative approach of its competitors, and is an ideal complement to them. It is
essential reading for all palliative care physicians in training and in practice, as well as
palliative care nurses and other health professionals in the palliative care team. Product Details
ISBN13: 978-0-340-96624-2
ISBN10: 0-340-96624-6
About the Author(s)
Eduardo Bruera, Professor and Chair, Department of Palliative Care & Rehabilitation Medicine, U.T.
MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA Irene J Higginson, Professor of Palliative Care and
Policy, Kings College London, UK Carla Ripamonti, Head, Day-Hospital and Outpatient Clinic of Pain
Therapy and Palliative Care, Rehabilitation and Palliative Care Operative Unit, National Cancer
Institute, Milan, Italy Charles von Gunten, Director, Center for Palliative Studies, San Diego
Hospice and Palliative Care, San Diego California, USAEduardo Bruera, Professor and Chair,
Department of Palliative Care & Rehabilitation Medicine, U.T. MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston,
Texas, USA Irene J Higginson, Professor of Palliative Care and Policy, Kings College London, UK
Carla Ripamonti, Head, Day-Hospital and Outpatient Clinic of Pain Therapy and Palliative Care,
Rehabilitation and Palliative Care Operative Unit, National Cancer Institute, Milan, Italy Charles
von Gunten, Director, Center for Palliative Studies, San Diego Hospice and Palliative Care, San
Diego California, USA

Table of Contents:
PART 1
The development of palliative medicine in: the UK and Ireland
Europe
Canada
the USA
Latin America
Africa
Australia and New Zealand
Asia
Palliative care versus palliative medicine
Palliative care as a public heath issue
The future of palliative medicine
PART 2
Principles of bioethics
Ethics
Dignity
PART 3
Dying in different cultures
Palliative care global initiatives
PART 4
Undergraduate
Graduate
Postgraduate and continuing education
Public education
PART 5
Challenges of research
The patient population
Research designs
Outcomes
Ethics in research
Practical tips for successful research
Audit and quality improvement
PART 6
Standards of care
The engineering of organizational change
Financial issues in the delivery of palliative care
Organization and support of the multiprofessional / interdisciplinary team
Needs assessment for patient care
The palliative care consult team
Models for palliative care delivery
Home care
Day hospitals
Inpatient hospices
The palliative care unit
Combined care models
PART 7
Patient assessment
Tools for pain and symptom assessment
Quality of life assessment
PART 8
The pathophysiology of chronic pain
Causes & mechanisms of pain
Opioid analgesics
The assessment and management of opioid side effects
Adjuvant analgesic drugs
Alternative routes for systemic opiod delivery
Epidural & intrathecal administration
Topical administration of analgesics
Non-pharmacological and non-invasive management of pain
Pain in children
Pain in the elderly
Neuropathic pain
Bone pain
Incidental pain
Somatization and pain expression
Pain in patients with alcohol and drug dependence