The Key Role of Nonpharmacologic Management of Cachexia in Persons With Advanced Illness: A Teachable Moment

A man in his 80s with advanced colon cancer and malignant ascites presented to the oncology clinic to discuss next steps. He reported weight loss (approximately 15 kg in 2 months), and his daughter commented on his limited appetite, weakness, and that he was “just bones.” Recent computed tomography staging scans had demonstrated progression of the cancer. On examination, temporal wasting and an indwelling peritoneal catheter were noted.

The oncologist discussed the lack of further meaningful chemotherapy or clinical trial options. The daughter requested that something be done for appetite and weight loss. The patient expressed food aversion. The oncologist prescribed a 2-week supply of megestrol acetate solution for anorexia and/or cachexia. The co-pay was $57. Three days later, the daughter called the oncologist and was distressed because her father was now weaker and bedbound. The patient enrolled in home hospice and died the next day. The daughter expressed guilt that she was unable to nourish her father during his last days.

Author/s:

Kabani, A., Dy, S.M., Gupta, A.

Therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids: an evidence mapping and appraisal of systematic reviews

John Bayhi — Mon, 03 Feb 2020 19:39:52 +0000

Date Added:

February 3, 2020

Journal/Publication:

BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies

Publisher:

Springer Nature

Publication Date:

January 15, 2020

Issue:

Volume:

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

10.1186/s12906-019-2803-2

Keywords

Another summary of what we know about the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids. The figures appear to be useful. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Background

Although cannabis and cannabinoids are widely used with therapeutic purposes, their claimed efficacy is highly controversial. For this reason, medical cannabis use is a broad field of research that is rapidly expanding. Our objectives are to identify, characterize, appraise, and organize the current available evidence surrounding therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabinoids, using evidence maps.

Methods

We searched PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library and CINAHL, to identify systematic reviews (SRs) published from their inception up to December 2017. Two authors assessed eligibility and extracted data independently. We assessed methodological quality of the included SRs using the AMSTAR tool. To illustrate the extent of use of medical cannabis, we organized the results according to identified PICO questions using bubble plots corresponding to different clinical scenarios.

Results

A total of 44 SRs published between 2001 and 2017 were included in this evidence mapping with data from 158 individual studies. We extracted 96 PICO questions in the following medical conditions: multiple sclerosis, movement disorders (e.g. Tourette Syndrome, Parkinson Disease), psychiatry conditions, Alzheimer disease, epilepsy, acute and chronic pain, cancer, neuropathic pain, symptoms related to cancer (e.g. emesis and anorexia related with chemotherapy), rheumatic disorders, HIV-related symptoms, glaucoma, and COPD. The evidence about these conditions is heterogeneous regarding the conclusions and the quality of the individual primary studies. The quality of the SRs was moderate to high according to AMSTAR scores.

Conclusions

Evidence on medical uses of cannabis is broad. However, due to methodological limitations, conclusions were weak in most of the assessed comparisons. Evidence mapping methodology is useful to perform an overview of available research, since it is possible to systematically describe the extent and distribution of evidence, and to organize scattered data.

Author/s:

Montero-Oleas, N, Arevalo-Rodriguez, I, Nunez-Gonzalez, S, Viteri-Garcia, A, Simancas-Racines, D