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Florian Strasser

Publications and source records attributed to Florian Strasser.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Effect of fish oil on appetite and other symptoms in patients with advanced cancer and anorexia/cachexia: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

PURPOSE: To determine whether high doses of fish oil, administered over 2 weeks, improve symptoms in patients with advanced cancer and decreased weight and appetite. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty patients were randomly assigned to fish oil capsules or placebo. Appetite, tiredness, nausea, well-being, caloric intake, nutritional status, and function were prospectively assessed at days 1 and 14. RESULTS: The baseline weight loss was 16 +/- 11 and 16 +/- 8 kg in the fish oil (n = 30) and placebo (n = 30) group respectively, whereas the baseline appetite (0 mm = best and 10 mm = worst) was 58 +/- 24 mm and 67 +/- 19 mm, respectively (P = not significant). The mean daily dose was 10 +/- 4 (fish oil group) and 9 +/- 3 (placebo group) capsules, which provided 1.8 g of eicosapentaenoic acid and 1.2 g of docosahexaenoic acid in the fish oil group. No significant differences in symptomatic or nutritional parameters were found (P <.05), and there was no correlation between changes in different variables between days 1 and 14 and the fish oil doses. Finally, the majority of the patients were not able to swallow more than 10 fish oil capsules per day, mainly because of burping and aftertaste. CONCLUSION: Fish oil did not significantly influence appetite, tiredness, nausea, well-being, caloric intake, nutritional status, or function after 2 weeks compared with placebo in patients with advanced cancer and loss of both weight and appetite.

Anorexia↗
PubMed2003

Perception of discomfort by relatives and nurses in unresponsive terminally ill patients with cancer: a prospective study.

Perception of discomfort in dying patients is a risk factor for distress and bereavement among relatives. This study determined the perception of discomfort, the frequency of observed behaviors, and their association among relatives and among nurses who care for unresponsive dying patients. Sixty unresponsive dying patients' relatives and their nurses were asked to evaluate patient discomfort levels, the frequencies of six observed behaviors, and the suspected reasons for the patient discomfort. The mean levels of perceived discomfort were similar, but the association was poor between the relatives and the nurses. Relatives reported significantly more observed behaviors and associated more pain as a reason for patient discomfort than did nurses. The findings suggest that relatives are intensely attuned to their loved ones' conditions and reactions, and nurses' responses are fairly similar. Further research is warranted, however, to distinguish between the distress that the relatives perceive and the actual suffering of patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Eating-related disorders in patients with advanced cancer.

Patients with advanced incurable illnesses and their families are frequently concerned about not eating enough and a decline in physical functioning. Eating-related disorders were reviewed for a workshop at the 4th San Salvatore Meeting on Palliative Care in Switzerland, with the purpose of discussing new findings relating to the understanding and treatment of such problems. The topics discussed were patient and family concerns, practical nutritional advice, mechanism and causes of anorexia/cachexia, and assessment and management of eating-related disorders.

Anorexia↗
PubMed2002

Update on anorexia and cachexia.

Declining physical, emotional, and social function as a result of anorexia and cachexia are considerable contributors to discomfort for cancer patients and their families, and they impair the patient's ability to express optimal physical and psychosocial potential as long as possible. This decline no longer has to be accepted as an indispensable sequel to advanced cancer, just as pain is no longer considered to be unavoidable. A routine screening for anorexia and cachexia and associated symptoms is necessary, as is a careful, comprehensive assessment, because the condition is not always obvious. Decisions about anorexia and cachexia treatment are guided by prioritizing the different, concurrent physical, psychosocial, and existential problems and by considering the natural course of the cancer and the effects of antineoplastic therapies. Reversible causes for anorexia and cachexia need to be identified and treated, if appropriate. Nutritional interventions are often indicated; patients with a predominant starvation component and without inflammation may profit the most. New pharmacologic therapies for primary anorexia and cachexia syndrome are expected to enter clinical practice soon; however, until then, treatment with corticosteroids, progestins, or prokinetics may be indicated for some patients. To understand a multicausal syndrome, multimodal and interdisciplinary therapy is required. Specialist palliative care services can be helpful to provide, hand-in-hand with the disease specialists [172], assessment and management of psychophysical symptoms and sociospiritual needs of patients during the course of the illness and at the end of life [173]. Research efforts aim to better characterize subgroups of patients suffering from secondary causes of anorexia and cachexia and to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the primary anorexia and cachexia syndrome. Increasingly individualized treatments are expected with combination treatments that involve different mechanisms including nutrition.

Anorexia↗