| Autor: |
Bösch, Annemarie, Wager, Julia, Zernikow, Boris, Thalemann, Ralf, Frenzel, Heidi, Krude, Heiko, Reindl, Tobias |
| Předmět: |
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| Zdroj: |
Journal of Palliative Medicine; Feb2018, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p169-176, 8p |
| Abstrakt: |
Background: The increasing number of children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions requires an individualized approach and additional supportive care in hospitals. However, these patients' characteristics and their prevalence in a pediatric tertiary hospital setting have not been systematically analyzed. Objective: This study aimed to determine the proportion of hospitalized children who are receiving care for life-threatening diseases with feasible curative treatments and for life-limiting diseases (LLDs) with inevitable premature death as opposed to care for acute or chronic diseases; additionally, it sought to compare patient characteristics, clinical features, and symptoms within these subgroups. Design/Setting/Subjects: A cross-sectional survey of 208 patients was conducted at a large tertiary pediatric care center through standardized interviews with the responsible medical teams. Patient subgroups were defined as those with acute, chronic, life-threatening, or LLDs. Results: The comparisons of patient subgroups showed distinct differences and revealed that nearly half of all inpatients suffer from life-threatening (20%) or LLDs (27%), with a high proportion of rare diseases (82%). They experienced a high burden of symptoms in all parameters of clinical features, including high demand for medications and nursing care. Conclusion: A substantial proportion of pediatric inpatients suffered from life-threatening or LLDs, as well as rare diseases, indicating a high burden of symptoms and a high need for additional care. The results suggest a substantial need to implement pediatric palliative care structures in tertiary care centers for patients in critical and terminal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Databáze: |
Complementary Index |
| Externí odkaz: |
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