END OF LIFE

End of Life Care

End of Life Care

Palliative Care for Patients with Delirium

Palliative Care for Older Patients

The holistic or palliative care to the elderly patients is an interdisciplinary remedial area of expertise. It concerts on relieving as well as preventing the suffering. Along with this, supporting of the paramount probable quality care for the individuals and their family dealing with the severe health complaint is significant. In accordance of the condition of the patients, the prime goal of palliative care is to manage the symptoms and establish the goals of care with respect to the preferences and values of patients (Fonseca et al, 2012, p. 201). Therefore, the care is used to be consistent and sustained communication among family of patient, all the caregivers involved as well as the patient. the elderly patients, their families and health care providers require the practical, spiritual and psychological support throughout the care until the death of the patients (Pootjes & Hermans, 2011, p. 91).

Palliative care for patients with delirium

The highly prevalent disease in elderly patients is delirium. It is one of the common diseases found in the patients of cancer (Hansen eta l, 2009, p. 51). Delirium is a condition that is an indication of disturbance associated to physiology of the body. In addition, it relates to the more than one medical etiology that encompasses paraneoplastic syndromes, adverse medication effects, organ failure and infections. Unluckily, the condition of delirium remains unidentified. Health care professionals often overlook the symptom and misdiagnosed (Friedlander, Brayman & Breitbart, 2004, p. 1541). Hence, the terminally ill patients could not get the appropriate treatment. The symptoms of delirium include various clinical features such as neuropsychiatric indications. These symptoms resemble to common indications of various other psychiatric disorders. The most common types nurses have to encounter and treat in palliative care are hypoactive, hyperactive and their combination (Firth et al, 2005).

Psychomotor behavior and arousal disturbance are the fundamental factors of such condition. There are several instruments available for the health care professional in order to make the correct diagnosis of delirium in patients. Nurses can diagnose the delirium via observing the signs of dementia, psychosis, mania and depression. These indications assist the healthcare provider including nurses to distinguish delirium from other psychiatric disorders. Management of the symptoms, correction of the contributing factors and investigation of the etiologies combine to provide the standard management. Patients at the end stage of life also require these factors by nurses in palliative care. They are in need of supportive therapies along with the symptomatic treatment via using the pharmacological approaches. However, the use of agents causing sedation, neuroleptics and other in managing the delirium is controversial, particularly with the patients of at end stage of their life.

Fundamentals of Palliative Care for the Patients with Delirium

The condition of delirium at the end stage of life requires the emergency treatment with complex as well as rapid interventions. In order to assure the highest quality care and the patient safety, the ...