Training video 2: Recognising and rating breakthrough symptoms

Transcript

[Music plays]

[Text on screen] caring@home

>>Narrator (female voice over): In this video, you will be shown how to recognize and rate the distress caused by breakthrough symptoms. Recognising breakthrough symptoms when they occur is important, because if symptoms are allowed to get worse, they can become harder to treat. The best way to tell if a person is experiencing a breakthrough symptom is simply to ask them.

Sometimes, though, they may be unable to tell you how they feel. Your nurse will teach you how to notice other signs, which may tell you if a symptom is causing distress and needs to be treated.

[Text on screen] Common breakthrough symptoms

>>Narrator (female voice over): Some of the most common breakthrough symptoms that people experience are pain, Shortness of breath, noisy, rattly breathing, nausea and or vomiting, restlessness, agitation, anxiety and muddled thinking or new confusion.

[Text on screen] Pain

Shortness of breath

Noisy ‘rattly’ breathing

Nausea and/or vomiting

Restlessness/agitation

Anxiety

Muddle thinking or new confusion

>>Narrator (female voice over): The nurse will teach you what to look for and the practical handbook has some information also. Remember the person you're caring for may experience more than one symptom at the same time. For example, they may have shortness of breath and anxiety. You may also notice signs of other symptoms. If so, please talk to your healthcare team as soon as possible.

[Text on screen] Rating breakthrough symptoms

Before you give medicine

About 20 minutes after a medicine given

>>Narrator (female voice over): A common way that healthcare teams talk about how distressing breakthrough symptoms are is to use a rating scale ranging from 0 to 10. In this scale, a rating of 0 represents no symptom distress at all and 10 represents the worst possible symptom distress. Rating symptoms is best done at two different times.

Before you give medicine and about 20 minutes after a medicine is given. It is the amount of change in the before and after medicine symptom ratings that is important as it lets you and your healthcare team know if the medicine has worked. If you have any concerns at all when recognising or rating breakthrough symptoms, contact your nurse or doctor for advice.

[Text on screen] caring@home

[Music ends]

End of transcript