This volume reviews the state of the art in caring for patients dying in the ICU, focusing on both clinical aspects of managing pain and other symptoms, as well as ethical and societal issues that affect the standards of care recieved, The book also addresses the changing epidemiology of death in this setting related to managed care, practical skills needed to provide the highest quality of care to terminal patients, communicating with patients and families, the mechanics of withdrawing life supporting therapies, and the essential role of palliative care specialists in the ICU. The book briefly describes unique issues that arise when caring for patients with some of the more common diseases that preciptate death in the ICU. Contributors for the book were chosed because they have experience caring for patients in the ICU, and are also doing current research to find ways to improve care for terminal patients in this setting.
Reviews
This is a ground-breaking collection of essays examining death and dying in the intensive care unit... It is the first book I have seen that makes explicit the parallels between palliative and intensive care, and one of the best examples I have encountered of interdisciplinary collaboration in aid of a common goal between nurses, physicians, oncologists, bio-ethicists and intensivists...I wholeheartedly recommend this book - not only to those with a specific intensive care interest, but to anyone who wishes to understand and improve the care of dying people in hospital environments. * Progress in Palliative Care *



Book Information
ISBN 9780195128819
Author J. Randall Curtis
Format Hardback
Page Count 408
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 703g
Dimensions(mm) 150mm * 231mm * 25mm