終末期がん患者に対する保険薬剤師の緊急在宅訪問に関する実態調査

Terminal cancer patients receiving home care medicine require emergency home visits by a medical professional during sudden changes in symptoms. However, the actual situation of these visits by health insurance pharmacists is yet to be clarified. Therefore, in this survey, we retrospectively analyzed the actual situation of emergency home visits to terminal cancer patients by the Tokuhisa-chuo Pharmacy during a 1-year period in 2020. We included 134 emergency home visits conducted for 76 terminal cancer patients. Results indicated that emergency home visits tended to be more frequently performed closer to the patient’s end-of-life stage. Patients’ symptoms during emergency home visits were predominantly pain, dysphagia, fever, and respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms. Drugs such as opioids, gastrointestinal drugs, antimicrobials, and antipyretic analgesics were frequently used to control these symptoms. In particular, the number of emergency home visits intending to manage pain and provide opioids significantly increased in the week before death. This survey clarified the need for emergency home visits by health insurance pharmacists in cancer patients receiving home care medicine in their dying stages.