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55 - Care of the Dying Patient

from Section 12 - End of Life

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2023

By
Ashley Shreves
Edited by
Kaushal Shah  and
Jarone Lee
Edited in association with
Clark G. Owyang  and
Benjamin Christian Renne
Kaushal Shah
Affiliation:
Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York
Jarone Lee
Affiliation:
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
Clark G. Owyang
Affiliation:
Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York
Benjamin Christian Renne
Affiliation:
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
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Summary

  • Palliative medicine focuses on maximizing the quality of life of patients with serious illnesses. For many patients in the critical care setting, the best medical treatments and technologies are unable to reverse advanced disease processes, as evidenced by the fact that 20% of Americans died in or after ICU care. Even when treatments can prolong life, they may not ultimately allow patients to achieve a quality of life acceptable to them. Functional and cognitive independence are highly valued by patients and yet most chronically, critically ill patients never live independently again. Honest, transparent, empathetic communication is the cornerstone of determining how to deliver effective, patient-centered medical care for these patients.

Keywords

palliative careend of lifewithdrawal of caretrajectory of dyinggoals of careorgan donation
Type
Chapter
Information
Practical Emergency Resuscitation and Critical Care , pp. 591 - 597
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

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