The Evolving and Important Role of Anesthesiology in Palliative Care
- 1 January 2005
- journal article
- case report
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Anesthesia & Analgesia
- Vol. 100 (1), 183-188
- https://doi.org/10.1213/01.ane.0000141061.74294.de
Abstract
A small but clinically significant proportion of dying patients experience severe physically or psychologically distressing symptoms that are refractory to the usual first-line therapies. Anesthesiologists, currently poorly represented in the rapidly evolving specialties of hospice and palliative medicine, are uniquely qualified to contribute to the comprehensive care of patients who are in this category. Anesthesiologists' interpersonal capabilities in the management of patients and families under duress, their knowledge and comfort level with the application of potent analgesic and consciousness-altering pharmacology, and their titrating and monitoring skills would add a valuable dimension to palliative care teams. This article summarizes the state of the art and means by which anesthesiologists might contribute to improvements in the important end-of-life outcome of safe and comfortable dying.Keywords
This publication has 23 references indexed in Scilit:
- Total Sedation in End-of-Life CareJournal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing, 2001
- What Terminally Ill Patients Care About: Toward a Validated Construct of Patients' PerspectivesJournal of Palliative Medicine, 2000
- Terminal sedation for existential distressAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, 2000
- Ketamine-fentanyl-midazolam infusion for the control of symptoms in terminal life careAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, 2000
- Assessing and Managing Depression in the Terminally Ill PatientAnnals of Internal Medicine, 2000
- Survival of Medicare Patients after Enrollment in Hospice ProgramsNew England Journal of Medicine, 1996
- The use of propofol in palliative medicineJournal of Pain and Symptom Management, 1995
- A Controlled Trial to Improve Care for Seriously III Hospitalized PatientsJAMA, 1995
- Subcutaneous lidocaine for treatment of neuropathic cancer painPain, 1991
- Subcutaneous midazolam infusion in palliative careJournal of Pain and Symptom Management, 1990