Andrew Dickman

While palliative care has adopted a holistic approach to treatment, medication driven symptom management ostensibly forms the critical aspect of care. Prescribing in palliative care can be extremely complex because the patient may often have comorbidity, or occasionally multimorbidity. The associated polypharmacy further complicates the pharmacological management of symptoms being caused by the palliative condition. This can be daunting for healthcare professionals and can negatively impact upon the effectiveness of care provided. Fully revised and updated, the third edition of Drugs in Palliative Care provides an accessible and succinct overview of the main drugs that are encountered in palliative care clinical practice. The text begins by providing a clinical pharmacology overview and prescribing guidance, then contains over 160 monographs of palliative care drugs, in an easy to access A-Z format.

The syringe driver is a simple and cost-effective method of delivering a continuous subcutaneous infusion (CSCI). A CSCI provides a safe and effective way of drug administration and can be used to maintain symptom control in patients who are no longer able to take oral medication. There have been several developments in this field since the third edition of this highly successful book. The text in this edition has been completely revised, incorporating new treatment options and an extensive list of new compatibility data. This book serves as a valuable reference source, providing comprehensive review of syringe driver use and administration of drugs by CSCI. The first chapter provides an overview of syringe drivers and CSCIs, including a useful array of frequently asked questions. The second chapter provides information about the chemistry of drug incompatibility and degradation. The third chapter comprises revised and referenced information relating to most drugs likely to be administered by CSCI using a syringe driver. The fourth chapter discusses the control of specific symptoms that are often encountered when CSCIs are required. The fifth and final chapter contains an extensive, referenced list of compatibility and stability data relating to drug combinations administered by CSCI.

While palliative care has adopted a holistic approach to treatment, medication driven symptom management ostensibly forms the critical aspect of care. Pharmacological therapy can be extremely complex because these patients often have coexisting medical conditions in addition to symptoms caused by their terminal disease. The resulting polypharmacy can be daunting for professionals and can negatively impact on effectiveness of care. Fully revised and updated, the second edition of Drugs in Palliative Care is a detailed yet concise handbook that will appeal to a variety of healthcare professionals involved in the provision of palliative care and medicines information. Divided into three sections it begins with an overview of pharmacology and prescribing advice then contains over 160 monographs of palliative care drugs, in an easy to use A-Z format.