Image-guided palliative care procedures.

Area of Science:

• Interventional Radiology
• Palliative Care
• Oncology

Background:

• Image-guided procedures are crucial for managing symptoms in patients with advanced malignancies and multiple comorbidities.
• Palliative care aims to alleviate suffering and improve quality of life for patients facing life-limiting illnesses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review commonly performed image-guided palliative procedures.
• To provide a decision-making framework for surgeons regarding end-of-life treatment and palliation.

Main Methods:

• Review of selected image-guided palliative procedures including cholecystostomy, biliary decompression, neurolysis, cementoplasty, drainage catheter placement, pleurodesis, tube thoracostomy, tumor ablation, chemoembolization, and selective internal radiation therapy.
• Inclusion of a decision tree for each procedure/disease to guide clinical application.

Main Results:

• Detailed descriptions of various image-guided palliative interventions.
• A structured approach to selecting appropriate palliative procedures based on disease and patient condition.

Conclusions:

• Image-guided interventions offer diverse options for palliation in complex patient populations.
• The provided framework assists surgeons in end-of-life care discussions and procedural selection for optimal patient comfort and symptom management.