palliative_care
palliative care
see also:
- Western Health nursing home patient prescribing process (intranet only):
- tips:
- ALL patients returning to the RACF from ED with changes to their regular medicines require an IRCMAC
- First print, then submit.
- Always submit (otherwise it doesn’t save).
- Sign your IRCMAC by hand when you have printed it, otherwise the nurses at the facility won’t use it.
- Refer your patients to the Aged Care Liaison Service (ACLS) if they require follow up i.e. palliative care/IV ABx.
- In hours: call intake 0419 392 030
- After hours: fax a referral to 8345 0234
- Patients CANNOT obtain newly prescribed palliative medications at the aged care facility after hours despite the above being performed HENCE these patients will most likely need to be admitted to hospital overnight for palliation if they cannot be transferred back to the facility by around 7pm so they can get the meds from an outside pharmacy (they do not have their own reserves)
common drug-related symptoms in palliative care
- source: Rowett and Currow. Austr. Prescriber Dec 2014
| symptom | drugs which may cause or exacerbate symptom |
|---|---|
| fatigue | chemotherapy, chronic opioids, anticonvulsants |
| anxiety | corticosteroids, withdrawal of benzodiazepines, opioids or antidepressants |
| dry mouth | anticholinergics, opioids, antidepressants, antipsychotics, antihistamines, benzodiazepines, diuretics, anticonvulsants, PPIs |
| depression | corticosteroids |
| hiccups | corticosteroids, benzodiazepines, antipsychotics |
| drowsiness or delirium | opioids, benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, anticholinergics, corticosteroids |
| insomnia | corticosteroids |
| constipation | a multitude |
| restlessness | metoclopramide, opioids, antipsychotics |
| diarrhoea | laxatives, cholinesterase inhibitors, antibiotics, chemotherapy |
| sweating | cholinesterase inhibitors, opioids, antidepressants, sialogogues (eg. pilocarpine), tramadol |
palliative_care.txt · Last modified: 2026/01/18 08:37 by gary1