Palliative care consultations for non-malignant diseases: Experience from a public hospital in Western India
Shamali Poojary1, Sujata Lavangare1, Shilpa Nellikkal1
1Department of Community Medicine, Seth G. S. Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Background:
Palliative care (PC) consultation has been shown to improve patient's quality of life (QoL), reduce symptom burden, decrease hospital stay, and provide holistic care for patients with life-limiting diseases.
Aim:
To asses impact of palliative medicine consultation in symptom management in patients with non-oncological medical conditions in a tertiary care hospital.
Design:
A record based study with study period of six months, from August 2021 to January 2022 was conducted. Patients with complete record were included for analysis.
Setting/Participants:
Included patients above 18 years of age with a non-oncological medical conditions referred for a newly established palliative medicine clinic in a tertiary care hospital.
Results:
A total of 83 patient records were analyzed, of which 30 (36.1%) were female and 53 (63.9%) were male. Among patients referred for Palliative Medicine consultation, 38 (45.8%) had neurological disease, followed by chronic renal diseases in 31 (37.3%) patients. There was a statistically significant improvement in the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) score on the follow-up visit. Discussion regarding Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) status was conducted in 20% of patients, and all patients or their families consented to the directive. Home-based Palliative Care arrangements were provided for 10% of patients.
Conclusion:
Palliative Medicine consultation brought about a significant reduction in anxiety and fatigue among patients with non-oncological medical conditions. It also helped in reducing the severity of symptoms in these patients.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Hospitals-II
Nurses that work in...
Hospitals-I
Coronary Artery Disease V: Interprofessional Care
Chronic Kidney Disease III: Interprofessional Care
Peripheral Artery Disease III: Interprofessional Care
Western Blotting
The technique begins with separating proteins from the sample using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), followed by protein transfer, immunoblotting, and finally, protein detection.


