Don’t delay palliative cares in the dying patients.

Don’t delay palliative cares in the dying patients.

Type of practice

Drugs

Age

Adult, Geriatric

Topic Area

Hospital Internal Medicine

The quality of care offered to the dying patients in hospital is far from being optimal, as organization and medical attitude, in the general wards, maintain therapeutic and diagnostic options typically addressed to acute diseases, disregarding the real needs of a patient. This causes an insufficient control of the key symptoms that characterize the end stage (pain, dyspnea, agitation, respiratory secretions,etc), with a negative impact on patients, care-givers and staff members themselves. The adoption of specifically conceived care-pathways improves symptom relief and dignifies the end-of -life, without accelerating death (on the contrary, prolonging life in selected patients).

Sources

1. Ellershaw J, Ward C. Care of the dying patient: the last hours or days of life. Brit Med J 2003; 326(7379): 30-4.
2. Costantini M, Ottonelli S, Canvacci L, Pellegrini F, Belcaro M. The effectiveness of the Liverpool care pathway in improving end of life care for dying cancer patients in hospital. A cluster randomized trial. BMC Health Serv Res 2011; 11: 13.
3. Lusiani L, Bordin G, Mantineo G, Roncato P, Favaro L, Tessaro L, Sandonà L, Bordin F. Cure di fine vita nei pazienti oncologici terminali in Medicina Interna. It J of Med 2012; 6: 110-5.
4. Temel JS, Greer JA, Muzilkansky A, Gallagher ER, Admane S, Jackson VA, Dahlin CM, Blindermann CD, Jacobsen J, Pirl WF, Billing JA, Lynch TJ. Early palliative care for patients with metastatic non-small lung cancer. N Engl J Med 2010: 363: 733-42.

Attention. Please note that these items are provided only for information and are not intended as a substitute for consultation with a clinician. Patients with any specific questions about the items on this list or their individual situation should consult their clinician.