Pruritus in Advanced Disease

ISBN-13: 9780198525103 / Angielski / Miękka / 2004 / 224 str.

Zbigniew Zylicz

Opis

Pruritus is a prevalent symptom in many skin conditions. However, much less is known about pruritus without primary skin disease. This problem affects most medical specialties, notably palliative care, haematology, oncology, internal medicine, hepatology, nephrology, anaesthesiology, immunology and psychiatry. Specialists from these disciplines each see few patients with severe pruritus and therefore have only limited possibility to learn from their experience. In response, this book aims to build a bridge of knowledge and evidence between the various different specialties. Pruritus can cause extreme discomfort in chronic cancer patients or in people who are receiving cancer treatment, as well as patients with non-malignant terminal illnesses. Knowledge about the pathophysiology of pruritus is scattered through many clinical specialties and this book brings this information together in a readily accessible compendium of knowledge which will be of value to physicians of any specialty. An international group of contributors cover the neurophysiology, clinical assessment, and measurement of scratching activity as well as opiod-induced pruritus, pruritus in haematological disorders, neuropathic pruritus, psychogenic pruritus and therapies and treatment. Aimed primarily at palliative care physicians, oncologists and nurses, the book will also prove valuable to all health care professionals who require guidelines to assist with effective symptom control thereby ensuring best quality of life for their patients.

Recenzje

Severe pruritus... can be a most distressing complaint for the patient. This little book is full of information that will improve the way we think about this complex symptom, and will be a valuable resource when confronted by a patient with difficult pruritus. Robert Twycross laments that pruritus is likely to remain a Cinderella symptom, relatively neglected. Well, this book certainly puts the girl in the spotlight.