Chang Alice, Espinosa James, Lucerna Alan
Emergency Medicine, Jefferson Health New Jersey, Stratford, USA.
Cureus. 2024 Feb 4;16(2):e53538. doi: 10.7759/cureus.53538. eCollection 2024 Feb.
The emergency department (ED) is at times the only place where patients can turn for symptom relief. Patients of all ages may turn to the ED for help with the management of end-of-life (EOL) and palliative care (PC) symptoms. Emergency medicine (EM) is a specialty that manages disease-directed treatment for a variety of acute conditions. In contrast, EOL and PC are focused on improving quality of life. Patients with serious illness, even hospice patients, present to the ED in increasing numbers for symptom management. It has become essential for emergency physicians to care for patients who are not seeking life-sustaining measures but instead need quality-of-life interventions. The development of a clear, concise review of the most common acute symptoms can provide a framework for EM physicians to adequately address the needs of patients at the EOL. Here, we discuss three cases that highlight the management of five of the most common EOL and PC presentations to the ED.
急诊科有时是患者寻求症状缓解的唯一场所。各个年龄段的患者都可能会前往急诊科，寻求临终关怀（EOL）和姑息治疗（PC）症状管理方面的帮助。急诊医学（EM）是一门针对各种急性病症进行疾病导向治疗的专业。相比之下，临终关怀和姑息治疗则侧重于提高生活质量。患有严重疾病的患者，甚至是临终关怀患者，越来越多地前往急诊科进行症状管理。对于急诊医生来说，照顾那些不寻求维持生命措施、而是需要提高生活质量干预措施的患者变得至关重要。制定一份清晰、简洁的最常见急性症状综述，可以为急诊医生充分满足临终患者的需求提供一个框架。在此，我们讨论三个案例，这些案例突出了急诊科最常见的五种临终关怀和姑息治疗症状的管理。
