Biomedical subjects

M Bercovici

Publications and source records attributed to M Bercovici.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

Salivary flow and its relation with oral symptoms in terminally ill patients.

BACKGROUND: Patients with terminal malignant disease commonly report hyposalivation or xerostomia. This leads to "dry mouth," fungal infection, and mucosal abnormalities. To the authors' knowledge oral symptomatology and findings have not been correlated previously with accurate salivary flow measurements. METHODS: Measurement of stimulated parotid salivary flow rate and clinical recording of oral symptoms within 24 hours from the time of hospital admission were obtained in 48 terminally ill cancer patients. Subjective reporting of symptoms by patients, parotid salivary flow rate, clinical recording of dental status, presence of candidiasis, angular cheilitis, and dryness of the floor of the mouth were obtained. RESULTS: A clinical diagnosis of oral candidiasis was made tentatively in 94% of patients, and 50% of the patients were found to have angular cheilitis. Thirty-one of 45 evaluable patients (68%) reported a sensation of oral dryness. Sixteen of the 48 patients (33%) had no saliva at the floor of the mouth. Analysis of individual salivary flow rates was stratified into 3 levels of secretion: 0, < 0.2, and > or= 0.2 mL/minute. Symptoms were found to correlate with salivary flow rates. CONCLUSIONS: In the current study, symptoms were found to be most severe in the patients with xerostomia followed by those patients with hyposalivation. Treatment should be directed individually to each group of patients using either salivary substitutes or stimulants. The rate of incidence of oral pathologic findings may be higher than formerly recognized.

Aged↗

PubMed2000

A multicentre international study of sedation for uncontrolled symptoms in terminally ill patients.

The issue of symptom management at the end of life and the need to use sedation has become a controversial topic. This debate has been intensified by the suggestion that sedation may correlate with 'slow euthanasia'. The need to have more facts and less anecdote was a motivating factor in this multicentre study. Four palliative care programmes in Israel, South Africa, and Spain agreed to participate. The target population was palliative care patients in an inpatient setting. Information was collected on demographics, major symptom distress, and intent and need to use sedatives in the last week of life. Further data on level of consciousness, adequacy of symptom control, and opioids and psychotropic agents used during the final week of life was recorded. As the final week of life can be difficult to predict, treating physicians were asked to complete the data at the time of death. The data available for analysis included 100 patients each from Israel and Madrid, 94 patients from Durban, and 93 patients from Cape Town. More than 90% of patients required medical management for pain, dyspnoea, delirium and/or nausea in the final week of life. The intent to sedate varied from 15% to 36%, with delirium being the most common problem requiring sedation. There were variations in the need to sedate patients for dyspnoea, and existential and family distress. Midazolam was the most common medication prescribed to achieve sedation. The diversity in symptom distress, intent to sedate and use of sedatives, provides further knowledge in characterizing and describing the use of deliberate pharmacological sedation for problematic symptoms at the end of life. The international nature of the patient population studied enhances our understanding of potential differences in definition of symptom issues, variation of clinical practice, and cultural and psychosocial influences.

Aged↗

PubMed1997

Pain experienced by patients with terminal head and neck carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Pain is one of the most feared consequences of cancer and is experienced by up to 80% of patients with head and neck carcinoma (HNC). Pain in terminal HNC patients is common and often defined as severe. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the World Health Organization (WHO) analgesic ladder in the treatment of a cohort of terminal HNC patients. METHODS: The authors prospectively evaluated 62 consecutive terminal HNC patients admitted to the Chaim Sheba Medical Center Tel Hashomer Hospice or the general hospital. Data pertaining to tumor origin, spread, treatment, and results were defined. Pain was assessed with the McGill Pain Questionnaire, using a 10-point visual analogue scale (VAS) and a body map. Pain was diagnosed according to cause and type. Treatment was selected according to the guidelines provided in the WHO analgesic ladder. RESULTS: Only 10 patients suffered from pain that was not locoregional. The results of the VAS score were available in the first reading in all patients with pain (n = 48), with a mean of 4.7 (standard deviation [SD] +/- 2.0). A mean second VAS score obtained 72 hours after the first was 1.9 (SD +/- 1.1). The difference between the two scores was statistically significant (P < 0.001). A third score was available for only 6 patients, with a mean of 1.6. Only 2 patients did not experience improvement of pain after 72 hours of treatment; both of these patients had bony involvement with tumor. Thirty-one patients (65%) were diagnosed with pain of nociceptive origin; these patients were categorized as having actual nociceptive pain (22), nociceptive nerve pain (6), or referred pain to the ear (3). Nonnociceptive pain of neuropathic origin was noted for only 6 patients (12.5%). Pain that could not be well defined but was responsive to opioid analgesic treatment was noted for 11 patients. A different form of non-cancer-related pain was noted for only one patient. CONCLUSIONS: Patients were treated for pain according to the WHO analgesic ladder. They received adequate narcotic analgesics and supportive measures that allowed significant reduction of pain in nearly all cases, with acceptable side effects.

Head and Neck Neoplasms↗

PubMed1997

Home and inpatient hospice care of terminal head and neck cancer patients.

The objective is to evaluate and compare data on a cohort of terminal head and neck cancer (HNC) patients from both home and hospital-based hospice programs and to define the particular problems and needs of those patients. The setting was a tertiary academic referral centre in Tel Hashomer, Israel. We carried out a retrospective survey of patient charts based on hospice databases and death certificates of the hospital tumor registry. Charts of 102 HNC patients admitted to the hospice between 1988 and 1994 and 24 charts of HNC patients cared for by the home hospice program between 1990 and 1994 were studied. Pain, airway problems, and dysphagia were the common problems reported. A comparison of the two programs showed home hospice patients to be younger and with lower pain levels, less weight loss, and less oral candidiasis. There were fewer oral cavity tumor patients in the home hospice group. The incidence of distant metastases was in 50% range in both groups. Judging by chart entries relating to pain, airway care, and food intake, treatment protocols were effective in both programs in the alleviation of pain and other symptoms. Both programs appeared to provide adequate care for terminal HNC patients. The main difference in care between the two groups stemmed from the decisions of referring physicians and not from a predetermined level of care. The incidence of distant metastases was higher than that reported in earlier clinical series.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Effect of acute changes in the PaCO2 on acid-base parameters in normal dogs and dogs with metabolic acidosis or alkalosis.

There is a linear relationship between the PaCO2 and blood hydrogen ion concentration in normal dogs, but for theoretical reasons to be discussed, we questioned whether this relationship would apply in animals with metabolic acidosis or alkalosis. To study this in more detail, animals were divided into three groups: normal, metabolically acidotic, and metabolically alkalotic. Following anesthesia and bilateral ureteral ligation, dogs were intubated and ventilated to produce acute steady state PaCO2 values corresponding to the range observed during disease states. Changes in the volume and electrolyte composition of the gastrointestinal fluid and urine as well as the concentration and distribution of lactate were evaluated in all experiments. We observed the previously described linear relationship between the PaCO2 and blood hydrogen ion concentration in normal dogs, but the slope of the regression line differed significantly from those of dogs with metabolic acidosis and metabolic alkalosis. On the other hand, there was a consistent relationship between the ratio of the PaCO2 values, but not the absolute PaCO2, and the change in the plasma bicarbonate concentration over a wide range of PaCO2 values in all groups of dogs. The chemical basis for these observations will be discussed.

Acid-Base Equilibrium↗

PubMed1982

Elevation of the blood lactate concentration by alkali therapy without requiring additional lactic acid accumulation: theoretical considerations.

A patient presented with lactic acidosis and severe acidemia; sodium bicarbonate was administered to titrate the very large hydrogen ion load. Coincident with this therapy, the blood lactate concentration rose from 21 to 27 mmole/L. In order to evaluate whether this rise in lactate could have occurred without requiring additional net lactic acid production, the effect of the hydrogen ion concentration on lactate distribution was evaluated. Data obtained from animal studies support the established hypothesis that lactate is distributed like other weak organic acids at steady-state; hence, alkalemia should favor a shift of lactate from the intracellular fluid (ICF) to the extracellular fluid (ECF). The authors calculated that the blood lactate concentration could rise by 50% without requiring net lactic acid accumulation when the severe acidemia was corrected by alkali therapy. Thus, an increase in lactate concentration of the magnitude observed during alkali therapy need not indicate a worsening of the metabolic picture in lactic acidosis.

Alkalies↗

PubMed1969