Palliative Care Flashcards
Definition and principles of palliative care
Approach that:
- Improves quality of life
- Unit of care: patients and their families but patient’s views > family’s
- Usually for life-threatening conditions
- Relief and prevention of suffering through early identification, impeccable assessment and treatment of pain
- Deals with total pain - physical, psychosocial and spiritual
- Multidisciplinary team approach
Palliative drugs: general pain
Paracetamol
Tramadol
Morphine
Inflammatory pain
Diclofenac
Cramps and mucus hypersecretion
Hyoscine butylbromide
Shooting neuropathic pain
Carbamazepine
Burning neuropathic pain
Amitriptyline
Nausea (+/- dementia)
Haloperidol
Nausea
Metoclopramide
Anxiety/insomnia
Lorazepam
Symptom management
- Diagnosis
- Communication
- Prevent reversible factors
- Disease-specific treatment
- Non-drug measures
- Drugs
Pain approach
- Pain types
- WHO pain ladder
- Adjuncts
- Side-effects
Psychosocial management approach
CEASER
C - communication E - ethics and human rights A - advocacy S - support E - empower R - reassure
Spiritual management approach
FICA
F - faith - what do you believe?
I - importance - how important is your faith to you?
C - community - do you have a faith community?
A - assist - how can I assist you?
AND
Meaning
Guilt/blame
Death/dying and legacy
Terminal phase
Time just before death when there is an inevitable and irreversible decline in functioning
Onset may be gradual or acute
Death usually ensues within 48 hours
Symptoms of terminal phase
Cyanosis Oliguria Noisy breathing Bedbound Delirium Hypotension
Sedatives that can be given in terminal phase
Haloperidol
Midazolam
Phenobarbital
