Good symptom management in oncology is associated with improved patient and family quality of life, greater treatment compliance, and may even offer survival advantages. With population growth and aging, the proportion of patients with multiple symptoms—both related and unrelated to their cancer—is anticipated to increase, supporting calls for a more routine and integrated approach to symptom management. This article presents a summary of the literature for the use of symptom assessment tools and reviews the management of four common and distressing symptoms commonly experienced by people with advanced cancer: pain, breathlessness, nausea and vomiting, and fatigue. We also discuss the role of palliative care in supporting a holistic approach to symptom management throughout the cancer trajectory.

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Background Chronic heart failure is a common condition, and its prevalence is expected to rise significantly over the next two decades. Research demonstrates the increasing multidimensional needs of patients and caregivers. However, access to palliative care services for this population has remained poor. This systematic review was to provide an evidence synthesis of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of palliative care interventions for people with chronic heart failure and their caregivers. Methods Relevant publications were identified via electronic searches of MEDLINE, Embase, PsychInfo, CINAHL, CENTRAL and HMIC from inception to June 2019. Grey literature databases, reference list, and citations of key review articles were also searched. Quality was assessed using the Revised Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Results Of the 2083 records, 18 studies were identified including 17 having randomised controlled trial (RCT) designs and one mixed methods study with an RCT component. There was significant heterogeneity in study settings, control groups, interventions delivered, and outcome measures used. The most commonly assessed outcome measures were functional status (n = 9), psychological symptoms (n = 9), disease-specific quality of life (n = 9), and physical symptom control (n = 8). The outcome measures with the greatest evidence for benefit included general and disease-specific quality of life, psychological symptom control, satisfaction with care, physical symptom control, medical utilisation, and caregiver burden. Moreover, the methodological quality of these studies was mixed, with only four having an overall low risk of bias and the remaining studies either demonstrating high risk of bias (n = 10) or showing some concerns (n = 4) due to small sample sizes and poor retention. Only two studies reported on economic costs. Both found statistically significant results showing the intervention group to be more cost effective than the control group, but the quality of both studies was at high risk of bias. Conclusions This review supports the role of palliative care interventions in patients with chronic heart failure and their caregivers across various outcomes, particularly quality of life and psychological wellbeing. Due to the highly heterogeneous nature of palliative care interventions, it is not possible to provide definitive recommendations as to what guise palliative care interventions should take to best support the complex care of this population. Considerable future research, particularly focusing on quality of care after death and the caregiver population, is warranted.

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It is commonly held that a normal electrocardiography (ECG) rules out heart failure (HF). In older populations with HF, 98% of patients have been reported to have major ECG abnormalities. Anecdotally, young patients with HF have been noted to have ECGs without major abnormalities. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of patients aged under 65 years with HF lacking major ECG abnormalities. Data were collected for 100 consecutive admissions with HF (aged ,65 years) with echocardiogram and ECG available. ECGs were independently assessed by two cardiologists; disagreements were resolved by a third. Ejection fraction was quantified using the biplane Simpson's. Majorly abnormal ECGs contained !1 of Q waves, left ventricular hypertrophy, bundle branch block or atrial fibrillation. Minor abnormalities of ECG also recorded; these included atrial enlargement, bradycardia, tachycardia, broadening of QRS complex, poor R wave progression, left/right axis deviation, first-degree atrioventricular block and non-specific ST-T wave changes. The mean age was 50.0 years. Seventy-six had major abnormalities on ECG, 22 had minor abnormalities and two showed no abnormalities. Ejection fractions were similar across all groups (28.6 + 2.8%, 28.4 + 3.4% and 25.5 + 6.9%, respectively). Twenty-four percent of patients with HF (aged ,65 years) do not have major ECG abnormalities. Patients aged ,65 years with a clinical suspicion of HF but without major ECG abnormalities should undergo further investigation.

Conclusion Expedited hospital discharges utilising NHS Continuing Care Fast Tracking provide an opportunity to undertake and record ACP. Undertaking ACP discussions at this point in the patient's care appears to be acceptable to both patients and healthcare professionals.

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