What is palliative care?
In the patient and family who encounter the problems arising from the life-threatening disease; It is an approach that seeks to improve the quality of life and practice of the prevention and alleviation of pain and other problems through early diagnosis and impeccable assessment and the satisfaction of physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs.
(WHO 2006 definition)
Purpose in palliative care
Not adding years to one's life, but adding life to one's years.
Provides relief from pain and other bothersome symptoms
While supporting life, it also perceives death as a natural process.
Not intended to hasten or delay death
Integrates psychosocial and spiritual aspects of patient care into physical care
Provides support for patients to lead as active a life as possible until the last moment
Provides support to relatives of patients in coping with their own grief process during and after the illness
Uses a team approach in meeting the needs of patients and their relatives, including bereavement counseling when necessary
It improves the quality of life and can also positively affect the disease process.
In the early stages of the disease process; It can be used in conjunction with treatments aimed at prolonging life, such as KT and RT; enables better understanding and management of clinical complications
Palliative care patient admission
Terminal stage cancer patients
Cancer patients with chronic pain, even if they are not in the terminal phase
Patients with nutritional deficiencies
COPD patients without acute problems using NIV at home or hospital
Neurological diseases (dementia, post resuscitation and chronic care patients due to CVO)
Patients whose protein energy intake is malnourished for various reasons
Patients with pressure sores
Method in palliative care
Palliative care refers to the reduction or elimination of symptoms only, without investigating the source of the disturbing symptoms after obtaining information from the patient and performing a physical examination, or without treating the cause of these symptoms. For example, a palliative care team tries to relieve symptoms like shortness of breath and pain when breathing in the same way, whether due to lung cancer, pneumonia, angina, or another illness. Asking the patient what he or she is feeling and performing a physical examination will almost always provide enough information to relieve symptoms, and there is no need for a chest x-ray or other tests. Because, if the patient is being treated for this disease, the only thing expected from palliative care is the elimination of distressing symptoms; If it is known that the disease that caused these symptoms is no longer possible for the patient in question, the only thing expected from the palliative care team is the elimination of the symptoms in the same way.