Center for Palliative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2018 Jun 23;20(7):50. doi: 10.1007/s11920-018-0915-x.
Dementia is a progressive and life-limiting condition that can be described in three stages: early, middle, and late. This article reviews current literature on late-stage dementia.
Survival times may vary across dementia subtypes. Yet, the overall trajectory is characterized by progressive decline until death. Ideally, as people with dementia approach the end of life, care should focus on comfort, dignity, and quality of life. However, barriers prevent optimal end-of-life care in the final stages of dementia. Improved and earlier advanced care planning for persons with dementia and their caregivers can help delineate goals of care and prepare for the inevitable complications of end-stage dementia. This allows for timely access to palliative and hospice care, which ultimately improves dementia end-of-life care.
痴呆是一种进行性且危及生命的疾病,可以分为早、中、晚期三个阶段。本文综述了晚期痴呆的现有文献。
不同类型的痴呆患者的存活时间可能不同。然而,整体轨迹是逐渐下降,直到死亡。理想情况下,随着痴呆患者接近生命的尽头,护理应该侧重于舒适、尊严和生活质量。然而,在痴呆症的最后阶段,存在障碍会妨碍最佳的临终关怀。为痴呆患者及其护理人员提供更好和更早的高级护理计划,可以帮助确定护理目标,并为终末期痴呆症的不可避免的并发症做好准备。这可以使他们及时获得姑息治疗和临终关怀,从而最终改善痴呆症的临终关怀。