Dr Meera Agar

Position/s:	Senior lecturer Palliative and Supportive Services
Phone:	work+61 8 72218230
Email:	meera.agar@flinders.edu.au
Location:	RGH Health Sciences (-)
Postal address:	GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

Biography

Dr Agar is a Palliative Medicine Specialist, in Sydney, NSW and Clinical Director of a 20 bed inpatient Palliative care service, with community and outpatient services.

Qualifications

MBBS (Hons I), University of Adelaide (1997)
Master of Palliative Care, Flinders University (2003)
FRACP (2004)
FAChPM (2005)

Teaching

Topic Coordinator:

8417 Project
8434 Oncology for palliative care
8443 Practicum
9000 Thesis

Topic Lecturer:

8430 Communication at the end of life A
8431 Communication at the end of life B
8437 Palliative Clinical Management A
8438 Palliative Clinical Management B

Research and consultancy

Research interests

Delirium in advanced cancer

The interface of palliative care with the medical emergency team

Neuro-oncology

Clinical trials

prescribing in palliative care

Publications

Refereed journal articles

Agar, M.R., Draper, B., Phillips, P.A., Phillips, J.L., Collier, A., Harlum, J., & Currow, D.C., 2011. Making decisions about delirium: A qualitative comparison of decision making between nurses working in palliative care, aged care, aged care psychiatry and oncology. Palliative Medicine.

Burns, C.M., Currow, D.C., Agar, M.R., Phillips, J., McCaffrey, N.M., & Abernethy, A.P., 2011. Palliative Caregivers Who Would Not Take on the Caring Role Again. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 41(4), 661-672.

Currow, D.C., Agar, M.R., & Abernethy, A.P., 2011. Tackling the challenges of clinical trials in palliative care. Pharmaceutical Medicine, 7-15.

Currow, D.C., Agar, M.R., To, T., Rowett, D.S., Greene, M.A., & Abernethy, A.P., 2011. Adverse Events in Hospice and Palliative Care: A Pilot Study to Determine Feasibility of Collection and Baseline Rates. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 14(3), 309-314.

To, T., Greene, M.A., Agar, M.R., & Currow, D.C., 2011. A point prevalence survey of hospital inpatients to define the proportion with palliation as the primary goal of care and the need for specialist palliative care. Internal Medicine Journal, 41(5), 430-433.

Currow, D.C., Burns, C.M., Agar, M.R., Phillips, J., McCaffrey, N.M., & Abernethy, A.P., 2011. Palliative caregivers who would not take on the caring role again. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 41(4), 661-672.

Davidson, P., Jiwa, M., Goldsmith, A.J., McGrath, S.J., DiGiacomo, M., Phillips, J., Agar, M.R., Newton, P.J., & Currow, D.C., 2011. Decisions for lung cancer chemotherapy: the influence of physician and patient factors. Supportive Care in Cancer, 19, 1261-1266.

Lobb, L., Swetenham, K., Agar, M.R., & Currow, D.C., 2011. A collateral benefit of research in palliative. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 14(9), 986-987.

Shelby-James, T.M., Hardy, J., Agar, M.R., Yates, P., Mitchell, G.K., Sanderson, C.R., Luckett, T., Abernethy, A.P., & Currow, D.C., 2011. Designing and conducting randomised controlled trials in palliative care: a summary of discussions from the 2010 clinical research forum of the Australian Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC). Palliative Medicine.

Currow, D.C., Agar, M.R., To, T., Rowett, D.S., Greene, M.A., & Abernethy, A.P., 2011. Adverse events in hospice and palliative care: A pilot study to determine feasibility of collection and baseline rates. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 14(3), 309-314.

Show all publications

Refereed journal articles

Lobb, L., Swetenham, K., Agar, M.R., & Currow, D.C., 2011. A collateral benefit of research in palliative. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 14(9), 986-987.

Currow, D.C., Agar, M.R., & Abernethy, A.P., 2011. Tackling the challenges of clinical trials in palliative care. Pharmaceutical Medicine, 7-15.

Currow, D.C., Agar, M.R., Plummer, J.L., Blyth, F.M., & Abernethy, A.P., 2010. Chronic pain in South Australia - population levels that interfere extremely with activities of daily living. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 34(3), 232-239.

Clark, K., Lam, L.T., Agar, M.R., Chye, R., & Currow, D.C., 2010. The impact of opioids, anticholinergic medications and disease progression on the prescription of laxatives in hospitalized palliative care patients: a retrospective analysis. Palliative Medicine, 24(4), 410-418.

Agar, M.R., To, T., Plummer, J.L., Abernethy, A.P., & Currow, D.C., 2010. Anti-cholinergic load, health care utilization, and survival in people with advanced cancer: a pilot study. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 13(6), 745-752.

Agar, M.R., 2010. Palliative care compassion, care and complexity. Cancer Forum, 34(2), 73-74.

Currow, D.C., Smith, J., Davidson, P., Newton, P.J., Agar, M.R., & Abernethy, A.P., 2010. Do the trajectories of dyspnea differ in prevalence and intensity by diagnosis at the end of life? A consecutive cohort study. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 39(4), 680-690.

Currow, D.C., Shelby-James, T.M., Agar, M.R., Plummer, J.L., Rowett, D.S., Glare, P., Spruyt, O., & Hardy, J., 2010. Planning phase III multi-site clinical trials in palliative care: the role of consecutive cohort audits to identify potential participant populations. Supportive Care in Cancer, 18, 1571-1579.

Sanderson, C.R. & Agar, M.R., 2010. Delirium in advanced cancer. Cancer Forum, 34(2), 77-82.

Agar, M.R., Currow, D.C., Plummer, J.L., Seidel, R., Carnahan, R., & Abernethy, A.P., 2009. Changes in anticholinergic load from regular prescribed medications in palliative care as death approaches. Palliative Medicine, 23(3), 257-265.

Currow, D.C., Agar, M.R., Smith, J., & Abernethy, A.P., 2009. Does palliative home oxygen imporve dyspnoea? A consecutive cohort study. Palliative Medicine, 23(4), 309-316.

Ward, A., Agar, M.R., & Koczwara, B., 2009. Collaborating or co-existing: a survey of attitudes of medical oncologists toward specialist palliative care. Palliative Medicine, 23(8), 698-707.

Agar, M.R. & Lawlor, P., 2008. Delirium in cancer patients: a focus on treatment-induced psychopathology. Current Opinion in Oncology, 20(4), 360-366.

Agar, M.R., Currow, D.C., Plummer, J.L., Chye, R., & Draper, B., 2008. Differing management of people with advanced cancer and delirium by four sub-specialties. Palliative Medicine, 22(5), 633-640.

Agar, M.R., Currow, D.C., Shelby-James, T.M., Plummer, J.L., Sanderson, C.R., & Abernethy, A.P., 2008. Preference for place of care and place of death in palliative care: are these different questions?. Palliative Medicine, 22(7), 787-795.

Clark, K., Currow, D.C., Agar, M.R., Fazekas, B.S., & Abernethy, A.P., 2008. A pilot phase II randomized, cross-over, double-blinded, controlled efficacy study of ocreatide versus hyoscine hydrobromide for control of noisy breathing at the end-of-life. Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, 22(2), 131-138.

Currow, D.C., Agar, M.R., Sanderson, C.R., & Abernethy, A.P., 2008. Populations who die without specialist palliative care: does lower uptake equate with unmet need?. Palliative Medicine, 22(1), 43-50.

Jeyasingam, L., Agar, M.R., Soares, M., Plummer, J.L., & Currow, D.C., 2008. A prospective study of unmet activity of daily living needs in palliative care inpatients. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 55(4), 266-272.

Leonard, M., Agar, M.R., Mason, C., & Lawlor, P., 2008. Delirium issues in palliative care settings. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 65(3), 289-298.

Agar, M.R., Broadbent, A., & Chye, R., 2004. The management of malignant psoas syndrome: case reports and literature review. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 28(3), 282-293.

Agar, M.R., Webster, R., Lacey, J., Donovan, B., & Walker, A., 2004. The use of subcutaneous omeprazole in the treatment of dyspepsia in palliative care patients. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 28(6), 529-531.

Journal articles

To, T.H., Greene, A.G., Agar, M.R., & Currow, D.C., 2011. A point prevalence survey of hospital inpatients to define the proportion will palliation as the primary goal of care and the need for specialist palliative care. Internal Medicine Journal, 41(5), 430-433.

Currow, D.C. & Agar, M.R., 2010. The necessary work program for safe delivery of combinations of injectable medications. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 13(9).

Shelby-James, T.M., Agar, M.R., & Currow, D.C., 2010. A case study evaluation of ethics review systems for multicentre clinical trials. MJA Medical Journal of Australia, 192(5).

Currow, D.C., Agar, M.R., & Abernethy, A.P., 2009. The upside of caregiving. British Medical Journal, 338.

Currow, D.C., Agar, M.R., Tieman, J., & Abernethy, A.P., 2008. Multi-site research allows adequately powered palliative care trials; web-based data management makes it achievable today. Palliative Medicine, 22(1), 91-92.

Conference publications

Agar, M.R., 2009. Management of delirium in the patient with cancer pain. Freedom from Pain, 194-198.

Agar, M.R., Clark, K., Currow, D.C., Fazekas, B.S., & Abernethy, A.P., 2007. Octreotide versus hyoscine hydrobromide for treatment of terminal respiratory secretions: A pilot controlled clinical trial. 9th Australian Palliative Care Conference Program Booklet, 39-39.

Sanderson, C.R. & Agar, M.R., 2007. Pilot study of application of a clinical typology for terminal restlessness. 10th Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care Programme and Abstracts, 162-162.

Sanderson, C.R. & Agar, M.R., 2007. Pilot study of application of a clinical typology for terminal restlessness. Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, 3(Suppl. 2), A94-A94.

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Professional and community engagement

Chair, Palliative Care Group, Clinical Oncological Association of Australia

Deputy Chair, Human Research Ethics Committee, Cancer Institute NSW

Deputy Chair, NSW Oncology groups - palliative care clinical research group, Cancer Institute NSW

Committee Member, Royal Australasian College of Physicians Chapter of Palliative Medicine

Committee Member, Palliative Care NSW

Member, Trial Management Committee, Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative

Member, Scientific Committee, Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative

Member, Management Advisory Board, Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative

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