Delirium is common across all palliative care settings. Guidelines exist to support the care of terminally ill people who develop delirium; yet the evidence base is limited. Recent surveys of palliative care specialists have suggested clinical practice is variable. To explore delirium assessment and management in a hospice inpatient setting. A mixed-methods study comprising a retrospective case note review of 21 patients admitted to a hospice inpatient unit and semi-structured interviews with seven hospice inpatient doctors and nurses. A total of 62% of patients were screened for delirium on admission using the 4 As tool (4AT). The period prevalence of delirium was 76% during the 2-week study period. The term 'delirium' was documented infrequently in case notes, compared to other more ambiguous terms. Interview data suggested that nurses were unfamiliar with delirium screening tools. Lack of awareness about delirium screening tools and the infrequent use of the term 'delirium' may suggest that delirium goes under-recognised and under-treated. Further education and research are required to support the care of terminally ill people with delirium.
The objective of this case presentation is to identify factors that hinder home deaths after patients have been compassionately discharged from the hospital. It aims to shed light on modifiable factors that could facilitate a home death. Compassionate discharges differ from routine discharges as they are done to support the wishes of terminally ill patients to pass on at home.
Introduction: Uncontrolled symptoms are widely recognized as one of the main challenges in oncology palliative care patients. The central aim of palliative care is to improve the patient's quality of life. In recent years, there has been a growing use of patient-reported outcome measures in palliative care, particularly to evaluate symptoms, quality of care, and well-being.
The study explored how palliative care (PC) consultations affect surgical patients' treatment choices, particularly regarding high-risk surgeries.
Researchers analyzed cases from 2020 to 2021, finding that PC consultation was linked to a higher occurrence of elevated-risk surgeries, contrary to the belief that PC might discourage such operations.
Results indicated that early involvement of PC in the surgical decision-making process can enhance disease management without negatively impacting patients' chances for surgery or hospice discharge.
Palliative care (PC) is essential to improve quality of life for individuals with life-limiting acute neurological conditions, particularly in resource-limited settings. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), there is limited health care professional training and education on PC. We reviewed the peer-reviewed literature discussing end-of-life care, withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments (WOLST), and PC in the acute inpatient setting.
Chronic heart failure (CHF) represents a substantial public health challenge, impacting patients' emotional well-being, quality of life, and overall prognosis. Palliative care and hospice services are increasingly recognized in managing advanced CHF, yet their evidence-based benefits remain underexplored. This study aimed to assess the influence of hospice care on CHF patient outcomes.
