Pediatric palliative care, Costa Rica's experience.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Palliative Care
• Pain Management
• Oncology

Background:

• Established in 1990, the Pediatric Palliative Care and Pain Control Clinic (PPCPCC) at the National Children's Hospital in Costa Rica is the nation's first specialized facility.
• The clinic provides essential services to children and adolescents facing life-limiting illnesses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the patient population and activities of the PPCPCC.
• To analyze demographic and clinical data of referred pediatric patients.
• To identify key symptoms and care settings for pediatric palliative care.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative, descriptive study analyzing data from 1445 pediatric patients referred between January 2000 and December 2008.
• Data collected included age, sex, diagnosis, referral source, pain, and other symptoms.
• Patient records from the PPCPCC NCH database were utilized.

Main Results:

• Malignant tumors were the most common diagnosis (1445 cases analyzed after exclusions).
• Pain was the predominant symptom reported by patients.
• A majority of patients received home-based care and died at home, indicating a preference for familiar surroundings.

Conclusions:

• The study provides insights into the operational aspects and patient needs of pediatric palliative care in Costa Rica.
• Recommendations include expanding coverage, enhancing resources, refining admission criteria, and developing standardized symptom assessment tools.
• Further development of pediatric palliative care programs is crucial to meet the growing demand.