Lessons Learned from Caring for Patients with COVID-19 at the End of Life.

MedStar author(s):
Citation: Journal of Palliative Medicine. 24(3):468-471, 2021 03.PMID: 32833568Institution: MedStar Washington Hospital CenterDepartment: Medicine/Palliative CareForm of publication: Journal ArticleMedline article type(s): Journal ArticleSubject headings: *COVID-19/mo [Mortality] | *COVID-19/nu [Nursing] | *COVID-19/px [Psychology] | *Hospice Care/px [Psychology] | *Nursing Staff, Hospital/px [Psychology] | *Palliative Care/px [Psychology] | *Terminal Care/px [Psychology] | *Withholding Treatment | Academic Medical Centers | Adult | Aged | COVID-19/ep [Epidemiology] | Fatal Outcome | Female | Hospitals, Urban | Humans | Male | Middle Aged | United States/ep [Epidemiology]Year: 2021Local holdings: Available online through MWHC library: 2013 to the presentISSN:
  • 1557-7740
Name of journal: Journal of palliative medicineAbstract: Over 140,000 people in the United States have died as a result of infection with COVID-19. These patients have varying death experiences based on their location of death, the availability and utilization of various medical technologies, the amount of strain on the local health care system, the involvement of specialist palliative care (PC) teams, and access to essential medications to alleviate symptoms at the end of life. The objective of this report is to describe the death experiences of four patients cared for in an urban academic medical center who received very different degrees of medical interventions and to examine the interventions of our interdisciplinary PC team. We conclude that PC teams must adapt to this new landscape by creating best practices for ensuring adequate symptom control, modifying approaches for withdrawal of life-sustaining medical technologies, and gaining facility with communication through teleconferencing platforms to meet the challenge of alleviating suffering for people dying from COVID-19.All authors: Kelemen A, Rao AOriginally published: Journal of Palliative Medicine. 24(3):468-471, 2021 Mar.Fiscal year: FY2021Digital Object Identifier: Date added to catalog: 2021-03-10
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Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode
Journal Article MedStar Authors Catalog Article 32833568 Available 32833568

Available online through MWHC library: 2013 to the present

Over 140,000 people in the United States have died as a result of infection with COVID-19. These patients have varying death experiences based on their location of death, the availability and utilization of various medical technologies, the amount of strain on the local health care system, the involvement of specialist palliative care (PC) teams, and access to essential medications to alleviate symptoms at the end of life. The objective of this report is to describe the death experiences of four patients cared for in an urban academic medical center who received very different degrees of medical interventions and to examine the interventions of our interdisciplinary PC team. We conclude that PC teams must adapt to this new landscape by creating best practices for ensuring adequate symptom control, modifying approaches for withdrawal of life-sustaining medical technologies, and gaining facility with communication through teleconferencing platforms to meet the challenge of alleviating suffering for people dying from COVID-19.

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