Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42272325›Full record

ArticleInternal medicine journal2026

Essential medications in palliative care: an updated survey of Australian and New Zealand medical practitioners practising palliative care.

Jack Power, Tim Luckett, Richard McNeill, David Currow, Amanda Landers, Gregory B Crawford, Slavica Kochovska, Philip Good, Jessica Boyley, Sungwon Chang and 1 more

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Article in Internal medicine journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Jack PowerImproving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT), Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Tim LuckettImproving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT), Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6121-5409
Richard McNeillDepartment of Palliative Care, Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9876-9368
David CurrowFlinders Ageing Alliance, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Amanda LandersPalliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7385-3739
Gregory B CrawfordSchool of Medicine, Adelaide University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Slavica KochovskaFlinders Ageing Alliance, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Philip GoodDepartment of Palliative Care, St Vincent's Private Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Jessica BoyleyDepartment of Palliative Care, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Sungwon ChangImproving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT), Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Lisa MounseyDepartment of Palliative Care, Barwon Health, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPalliative care patients experience complex symptoms requiring varied pharmacological management. Medication choice depends on the underlying aetiology of symptoms, guideline recommendations, clinician preference and medication availability.

aimThe aim of this study was to canvass the views of practising Australian and New Zealand medical practitioners practising palliative care regarding the medications they perceive to be essential for managing prevalent end-of-life symptoms, in an update to a previous clinician survey conducted in 2000. This study also canvassed respondents' views on whether patients experienced difficulties accessing these medications.

methodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2022 among current members of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine (ANZSPM). The questionnaire explored ideal pharmacological management for 19 different symptoms experienced at the end of life. A descriptive analysis of results was calculated in SPSS version 28.0.

resultsSurvey reponses were received from 13.5% of ANZSPM members. For most symptoms (n = 70), a large number of medications were listed as essential. The most concordant first-ranked medications included hyoscine butylbromide for noisy breathing (48.8%), benzodiazepines for breathlessness (nominated by respondents as a class, 41.2%), dexamethasone for cachexia (36.4%) and morphine for cough (35.5%). Respondents most frequently indicated there was no essential medication for oral ulceration, dry mouth, delirium and anorexia. Lidocaine for oral ulceration was ranked the most difficult for patients to access in the community (85.7%).

conclusionsThere remains various opinions on essential medications for palliative care. This suggests the need for ongoing research to reach an evidence-based consensus for clinical practice.

Indexed as

Attitude of Health PersonnelPalliative CarePractice Patterns, Physicians'AdultAustraliaCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNew ZealandSurveys and QuestionnairesAustraliaNew Zealandopioid analgesicspalliative caresurveys and questionnaires

Identifiers

PMID42272325
PMCPMC13458243

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.