Topical compounds are often used in hospice to treat many symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, anxiety, and terminal delirium. However, there is a lack of data supporting the absorption and efficacy of these applications. Does this negate the subjective efficacy of these compounds – no! But let’s dive into whether we should make this a standard medication for our hospice patients.

Hydroxyzine is a versatile medication belonging to the class of antihistamines, although its applications and use extend beyond allergy relief. In this article, we will delve into the drug class of hydroxyzine, its dosage forms, common uses, potential side effects, and explore its role in hospice and palliative care.

Managing symptoms and End-of-Life (EOL) is essential in the hospice and palliative care setting. Many patients experience exacerbating symptoms in the last hours to days of life. Alleviating burdensome symptoms is important to not only promote comfort for the patient, but also to decrease feelings of helplessness for caregivers…

At the end of a patient's life, comfort and quality of life become paramount. Haloperidol may be employed judiciously in hospice care to provide relief from distressing symptoms, improve the patient's comfort, and ensure their dignity during their final moments.

Jaymie Wilson MSN, APRN-CNP, ACHPN answered five common questions about terminal secretions. Is it bothering the patient? Do these secretions mean death is near? Can you suction out the secretions? Are there any medications that can be given to help decrease the amount of secretions? What can I do as the caregiver to help?

Music therapy is a type of therapy that uses music to address the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of individuals. It has been shown to be effective in improving the quality of life for hospice patients, who often experience a range of physical, emotional, and spiritual symptoms related to their illness.

The decision to use Eliquis, or any other medication for the hospice patient, should be made carefully and with consideration of the potential risks and benefits.

Does my patient still need long-acting inhaler?

Inhaled medications such as Advair and Incruse Ellipta are often prescribed to control symptoms in advanced COPD patients. These inhalers contain Long-Acting Beta-2 Agonist (LABA), Long-Acting Muscarinic Antagonist (LAMA), Steroid, and/or combination of the three. The long-acting inhaler can be administered daily or BID and may decrease the need for rescue inhaler.
However, long active inhalers require precise technique that can be challenging to most patients, especially elderly and end-of-life patients.

A seizure occurs when excitatory neurons produce a sudden surge in electrical activity in the brain. Seizures can be caused by various underlying conditions, ranging from temporary conditions such as fever, infection, alcohol or medication withdrawal, hypoglycemia, electrolyte imbalance, head trauma, and more. In these cases, treating these underlying conditions will stop the seizure.

A lack of restful sleep contributes to poor health, and the advent of other chronic conditions including cardiovascular diseases, mood disorders, depression, and a weakened immune system. There are several sleep disorders in existence but insomnia is the most prevalent among hospice patients.

Nausea causes a person to not want to eat or drink anything and vomiting can cause dehydration. There is no magic pill that combats every type of mediator triggering nausea and/or vomiting. This is why it’s important to differentiate between the areas that feed into the vomiting center.

Technology is great…. until it has you looking at something curious in your poo. Believe it or not, there are several medications that mimic the corn phenomena – they come out of the body looking the same as they went in.

Every hospice patient requires palliative care, which is the aggressive management of symptoms to keep our patients symptom-free and comfortable as they transition out of this world. Polypharmacy is the simultaneous use of multiple medications to manage the health of a patient. A similar complaint I hear from nurses and other healthcare providers, after listening to some of them, is how difficult it is sometimes to convince the patients’ caregivers about the importance of medication deprescribing.