International
Journal of Palliative Nursing, Jan 2016, vol. 22, no. 1, p. 5-9
Begley,
Sarah, Rose, Kevin, O'Connor, Margaret
A widely used
strategy to treat fatigue in palliative care is the use of corticosteroids but,
despite being frequently prescribed, evidence of their effectiveness is
ambiguous. This paper used a systematic approach to explore literature to
determine evidence about whether the use of corticosteroids improves levels of
cancer-related fatigue in people with advanced cancer. The four included studies all reported
improvements in patient-reported fatigue as a result of taking corticosteroids,
although the quality of results varied and only a few were deemed to have
statistically significant results. While there is some evidence that
corticosteroids can improve cancer-related fatigue, more rigorous research is
required.
Available in print in Arthur Rank Hospice Library, Brookfields Hospital