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Biomedical subjects

N Coyle

Publications and source records attributed to N Coyle.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

The euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide debate: issues for nursing.

The role of nursing has yet to be defined in relationship to the controversial issue of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. This may be one of the most important issues facing oncology nurses during the next five years. With recent advances in medical technology, patients are fearful that suffering and death will be prolonged. The option of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide is seen by some to be a right. Oncology nurses, as patient advocates, need to understand the basic issues surrounding this controversy.

Beneficence↗
PubMed1991

Infection as a cause of rapidly increasing pain in cancer patients.

Rapid escalation of cancer-related pain is usually assumed to be due to progression of the neoplasm. Occult local infection is a poorly recognized alternative cause. We describe two patients who developed rapidly increasing pain that was determined in each case to be due to occult local infection. These cases suggest that all patients with rapid escalation of chronic cancer pain should undergo an evaluation to identify a cause of changing nociception, and that infection should be considered among the possible diagnoses. Lack of fever or leukocytosis does not exclude local infection, and empirical treatment with antibiotics is sometimes indicated.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1991

Controversies in the long-term management of analgesic therapy in patients with advanced cancer.

The management of pain in the patient with advanced cancer requires comprehensive assessment and expertise in the application of many therapeutic techniques. Given the complexity of the problems posed by these patients, it is not surprising that most aspects of palliative care derive from personal anecdote and clinical consensus, rather than well-defined guidelines based on research findings. In the absence of such guidelines, unresolved issues and controversies abound. This review discusses some of the most important of these topics, which range from the overall system of care and quality of assessment to the specifics of pharmacotherapy and other modalities of treatment. In so doing, the rationale for some of the accepted clinical approaches can be clarified, others that are as yet little known can be highlighted, and the issues most in need of further investigation can be defined.

Analgesics↗
PubMed1990

Controversies in the long-term management of analgesic therapy in patients with advanced cancer.

The management of pain in the patient with advanced cancer requires comprehensive assessment and expertise in the application of many therapeutic techniques. Given the complexity of the problems posed by these patients, it is not surprising that most aspects of palliative care derive from personal anecdote and clinical consensus, rather than well-defined guidelines based on research findings. In the absence of such guidelines, unresolved issues and controversies abound. This review discusses some of the most important of these topics, which range from the overall system of care and quality of assessment to the specifics of pharmacotherapy and other modalities of treatment. In so doing, the rationale for some of the accepted clinical approaches can be clarified, others that are as yet little known can be highlighted, and the issues most in need of further investigation can be defined.

Analgesics↗
PubMed1990

Character of terminal illness in the advanced cancer patient: pain and other symptoms during the last four weeks of life.

There is a great variability among advanced cancer patients in the experience of symptoms and their impact on life's activities. A subgroup of difficult patients particularly tax the clinical skills and compassion of practitioners. Although the need for information about these patients is evident, their characteristics have not been explored heretofore. We describe our experience with such patients, a group referred to the Supportive Care Program of the Pain Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Prevalence of pain and other symptoms, patterns of opioid use and routes of drug administration, and the prevalence of suicidal ideation and requests for euthanasia are discussed.

Adult↗