AAHPM Fellows Case Conference - A Success!

We had 5 great cases from PIT SIG members at the 2006 Annual Assembly. The second annual fellows case conference was well attended by over 50 people who asked some great questions of the fellows. Congratulations to all those who presented and thank you to all of the people who attended. Special thanks to our panel: Solomon Liao, MD (UCI), Christine Ritchie, MD, MPH (UAB) and Lynn Bunch, MD (Mt. Sinai).

Of the 15 cases submitted the 5 cases presented were:

Title: Difficulty Concentrating in a Man with Colon Cancer
Presenter: Juliet Jacobsen, MD, DPH
Program: Massachusetts General Hospital Palliative Care Fellowship Program
Summary: This case presentation describes a patient with metastatic colon cancer who presented with the compliant of difficulty concentrating. He did not meet the diagnostic criteria for major depression but during his hospital course he developed suicidal ideation in the setting of poorly controlled pain and multiple frustrating delays in care.

Title: Escalating Chest Pain in a Young Man with Metastatic Gastroesophageal Cancer
Presenter: H. Jane De Lima, MD
Program: Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Summary: The case presentation describes a patient who benefited from aggressive but palliative minded interventions and the importance of diagnostics in addressing pain control.

Title: Caring for Home Hospice Patients with Substance Abuse
Presenter: Drew Rosielle, MD
Program: Palliative Care Program, Medical College of Wisconsin
Summary: The case presentation describes a patient actively abusing substances while in home hospice. Discussion points will include the pitfalls and challenges of caring for dying patients who are using drugs, as well as strategies to provide these patients optimal symptom control.

Title: Is it a Crisis?
Presenter: Ryan Nash, MD
Program: University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for Palliative Care
Summary: Corticosteroids are an essential and frequently utilized weapon in the palliative arsenal. The case to be presented illustrates the dilemma regarding corticosteroid cessation at the end of life with emphasis on the ethical decision to allow death by natural progression of disease versus the iatrogenic complication of a medication withdrawn.

Title: Addressing Intractable Crying: Pseudobulbar Affect and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Presenter: Suzana Makowski, MD, MMM
Program: San Diego Hospice
Summary: This case will review the differential diagnosis for intense emotional suffering in the ALS patient. Other items to be covered include Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the impact of her crying on caregivers, and the multidisciplinary team approach - including pharmacological and psychosocial interventions - used to alleviate her suffering during the final five weeks of her life.