open access
Palliative care for the patients with pancreatic cancer
open access
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most common cancers of gastrointestinal tract. Diagnosis of this cancer is sometimes preceded by pain, pruritus, thrombosis and depression. Treatment of pain does not depend only on the coeliac plexus block. In the treatment most important are well chosen opioids and co-analgesics. Pruritus, which sometimes complicates the course of disease, is being treated by stenting of the common bile duct but also drugs inhibiting serotonin uptake. In this article management of different symptoms based on their specific mechanisms has been discussed.
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most common cancers of gastrointestinal tract. Diagnosis of this cancer is sometimes preceded by pain, pruritus, thrombosis and depression. Treatment of pain does not depend only on the coeliac plexus block. In the treatment most important are well chosen opioids and co-analgesics. Pruritus, which sometimes complicates the course of disease, is being treated by stenting of the common bile duct but also drugs inhibiting serotonin uptake. In this article management of different symptoms based on their specific mechanisms has been discussed.
Keywords
pancreatic cancer, pain, pruritus, itch, analgesics, opioids, venous thrombosis, psychological depression, paraneoplastic symptoms
About this articleTitle
Palliative care for the patients with pancreatic cancer
Journal
Palliative Medicine in Practice
Issue
Article type
Review paper
Pages
145-151
Published online
2015-02-27
Page views
835
Article views/downloads
34866
Bibliographic record
Medycyna Paliatywna w Praktyce 2014;8(4):145-151.
Keywords
pancreatic cancer
pain
pruritus
itch
analgesics
opioids
venous thrombosis
psychological depression
paraneoplastic symptoms
Authors
Zbigniew Zylicz
