Guidelines Issued to Improve Care at End of Life
The
American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued new guidelines to improve
palliative care at the end of life.
The guidelines say that clinicians should regularly assess
people with serious illness at the end of life for symptoms of pain, shortness
of breath, and depression; that they should use proven therapies to treat these
conditions; and they should ensure that advance care planning occurs for all
patients with serious illness.
“Many Americans will face a serious illness at the end of life
and their families will be involved in their care,” said Amir Qaseem, MD, PhD,
MHA, Senior Medical Associate in the Clinical Programs and Quality of Care
Department of the Medical Education and Publishing Division at ACP.
“We wanted to pull together best available evidence on
improving care that relieves or soothes symptoms at the end of life. Evidence
review showed that the 3 most common symptoms were pain, difficult breathing,
and depression; so our guidelines address these,” he said.
-
For patients with cancer, pain has been proven to be
controlled with anti-inflammatory drugs, narcotic drugs and bisphosphonates
(bone-building drugs). -
For patients with difficulty breathing, the guidelines
suggest using narcotic drugs and oxygen for short-term relief. -
Patients with depression can be treated with antidepressants
and psychosocial intervention.
Published March 31, 2008
Silver Planet Staff
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