Navigation Links
Intensive care units poorly equipped to care for the dying
Date:10/5/2009

Almost half of the patients who die in intensive care units die within 24 hours, but the environment is not equipped to provide good end-of-life care. Most relatives are nevertheless happy with the care given, shows a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

An intensive care unit (ICU) is designed primarily to save lives rather than provide end-of-life care. When a patient dies on an ICU, this often follows a sudden illness or trauma, and neither the patient nor relatives are prepared for death.

"The location and environment in which people die mean a lot not only for the person who is dying but also for those who are to look after them and those who must learn to live without them," says nurse Isabell Fridh, who wrote the thesis.

Her thesis shows that Swedish ICUs are often unable to care for dying patients in separate rooms. The waiting rooms to which relatives are sent are often too few and too small. Most units do not have a care programme for end-of-life care, and many also have no procedures in place for supporting relatives after a death, which is standard practice at hospices. The results also show that almost half of the patients (in the study) died within 24 hours after admittance (to intensive care), and 40% of these did not have any relatives present at the time of death.

"This may seem to paint a bleak picture, but the truth is that most of the relatives I interviewed for my thesis thought that the care given was a positive experience despite their sense of loss," says Fridh. "Many feel that their loved one benefited from all available medical resources and that everything that could be done to save their life was indeed done."

Relatives rarely complain about the physical environment, but they do not like to be separated from the patient against their will, and greatly appreciate being able to spend that last bit of time with their loved one in a private room.

<
'/>"/>
Contact: Elin Lindstrm Claessen
elin.lindstrom@sahlgrenska.gu.se
46-317-863-869
University of Gothenburg
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related medicine news :

1. University Medical Center Mainz Completes Installation of Masimo Noninvasive and Continuous Hemoglobin Throughout Their Operating Rooms, Intensive Care Units and Emergency Department
2. Integrated Medical Systems Receives CE Mark for Worlds First Suitcase Intensive Care Unit
3. The Breema Center Presents Its Fall Week-Long Intensive on Giving and Receiving Breema Bodywork
4. Integrated Medical Systems Receives $1.1 Million From the U.S. Department of Defense for Critical Enhancements of the Worlds First Suitcase Intensive Care Unit
5. Integrated Medical Systems Receives $3.25 Million from the U.S. Army for Worlds First Suitcase Intensive Care Unit
6. Integrated Medical Systems Ships Worlds First Suitcase Intensive Care Unit to U.S. Army
7. Innovator's Studio offers Social Media Strategy Intensive Sept 16-17, 2009
8. Intensive management can improve blood pressure in non-adherent hypertensive patients
9. New findings encourage more vigilant monitoring of seizure activity among intensive care patients
10. BioFit Intensive Plus&#8482; Chairs Meet Federal Standard for Continuous Intensive Use
11. BUSM researchers find gram-negative rods in two Philippine neonatal intensive care units
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/25/2013)... Plains, NJ (PRWEB) May 25, 2013 ... iPhone. The universal app version of Word Hunt ... app versions of Concentration, Edge Match, Flash 2, Sudoku and ... , The brain games’ gameplay and revolutionary lifetime brain fitness ... 4 inch displays. , “100 years of brain fitness measurement ...
(Date:5/25/2013)... Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) May 25, 2013 ... will grow at an average annual rate of 28.7% ... growth of 17.9% in 2013. From 2002 and 2008, no ... analyst Kevin Culbert, causing relatively modest growth during that period. ... (FDA) has approved six new products. This factor contributed to ...
(Date:5/25/2013)... Texas (PRWEB) May 25, 2013 ... stressful than finals week. Increasingly, they are turning ... stay awake and study. For more on this, ... a drug treatment facility, warns that students who ... finals” are at risk for developing a physical ...
(Date:5/25/2013)... 2013 Ayurveda is the traditional ... or wisdom of life". While a medical science, its scope ... of consciousness. Its fundamental philosophy is that disease is the ... It believes that in order to re-establish optimal health, we ... then adopt a life style which brings us back into ...
(Date:5/25/2013)... May 25, 2013 The current residents of ... parents, and the B2B staff all came together Saturday, May ... an array of Indian Cuisine, the residents got up to ... helping them on their road to recovery, and giving them ... and Alcohol center in 2010 after realizing the need for ...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:Acuity Games Apps Come to the iPhone 2Health News:Slow Healing: Cell Therapy in the US Industry Market Research Report Now Available from IBISWorld 2Health News:Slow Healing: Cell Therapy in the US Industry Market Research Report Now Available from IBISWorld 3Health News:Addiction and Drug Abuse: Study Drug Adderall Abuse Spikes During Finals 2Health News:Ayurveda Education Programs Offered by the California College of Ayurveda Include Panchakarma Certification, Practitioner Courses, and Body Therapy Classes 2Health News:Back2Basics Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center Celebrates Their 3rd Anniversary 2
... more sensitive to early signs of Alzheimer,s dementia than ... School of Medicine in St. Louis. Doctors often ... testing them with a variety of cognitive tasks, such ... of objects. Washington University researchers developed a different approach. ...
... By Randy Dotinga HealthDay Reporter , MONDAY, Sept. ... the devastation suffered by men when their wives or girlfriends ... were almost 40 percent more likely than other men to ... risk of hospitalization among the men was very small, and ...
... Inc. is presenting new data in five posters and ... the company,s radioprotectant Ex-RAD at the 56th Annual Meeting ... Maui, Hawaii. In vivo studies show that Ex-RAD, ... versus placebo-treated groups in mice exposed to lethal whole ...
... best practice and endorsement of evidence-based medicine, the American ... and released a clinical practice guideline, which found a ... a way to treat fractures in the spine. ... to ensure that patients receive high quality care. ...
... and military efforts continuing in Afghanistan, UCLA has helped ... forces medical personnel in critical combat casualty care. The ... program,s developers say, but civilian care as well. ... the field during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring ...
... first studies to focus exclusively on the outcomes ... http://www.mayoclinic.org/prostate-cancer/ ) researchers have found that surgery provides ... and Fox Chase Cancer Center ( http://www.fccc.edu/ ) ... aggressive forms of prostate cancer who had radical ...
Cached Medicine News:Health News:Friends, family detect early Alzheimer's signs better than traditional tests 2Health News:Friends, family detect early Alzheimer's signs better than traditional tests 3Health News:Male Partners of Breast Cancer Patients May Suffer Depression 2Health News:Onconova Therapeutics presents new data demonstrating radioprotection by Ex-RAD at RRS annual meeting 2Health News:Onconova Therapeutics presents new data demonstrating radioprotection by Ex-RAD at RRS annual meeting 3Health News:New guideline finds no evidence for a popular back procedure 2Health News:New guideline finds no evidence for a popular back procedure 3Health News:UCLA develops combat casualty care educational program for US armed forces 2Health News:UCLA develops combat casualty care educational program for US armed forces 3Health News:Surgery found effective for patients with aggressive prostate cancer 2
(Date:5/24/2013)... , May 24, 2013  Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ... management will participate in the Deutsche Bank Health Care ... Boston Waterfront Hotel.  Mr. Adrian Adams ... present an overview of the Company and its product ... 2013.   (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101202/MM10881LOGO ) ...
(Date:5/24/2013)... -- Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NASDAQ: SVA ), ... China , announced that Sinovac Beijing, ... the Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practices for Pharmaceutical ... Food Administration (CFDA) for its proprietary vaccines, its ... filing and packaging facility. The GMP certificate covers ...
(Date:5/24/2013)... England and BOSTON , May ... drug discovery and development company, is pleased to announce that it ... Consultant to augment the Company,s business development capabilities in ... has more than 15 years of experience in business development, licensing ... Perlegen Sciences, Inc., Roche Pharma ( Japan ), Nippon ...
Breaking Medicine Technology:Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. To Present At The Deutsche Bank Health Care Conference 2Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. To Present At The Deutsche Bank Health Care Conference 3Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. To Present At The Deutsche Bank Health Care Conference 4Sinovac Beijing Obtains China GMP Certificate Under the New GMP Guidelines 2Sinovac Beijing Obtains China GMP Certificate Under the New GMP Guidelines 3Heptares Augments Business Development Capabilities in Japan and Other Asian Territories 2
... Bleeding in Patients Treated for Acute Coronary Syndromes,(ACS) ... Year, NEW ORLEANS, March 26, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- ... acute coronary syndrome,(ACS) patients in the "Angiomax(R) (bivalirudin) ... outcomes compared with,more complicated standard therapy, confirming previous ...
... 2 Findings Suggest Improved Outcomes in Carotid,Artery ... /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --,Positive 30-day results from two Abbott ... with positive results by,physicians with a variety ... in patients who are not favorable,candidates for ...
Cached Medicine Technology:Acuity One-Year Findings Meet All Primary Endpoints in Favor of,Angiomax (Bivalirudin) Alone Treatment Group 2Acuity One-Year Findings Meet All Primary Endpoints in Favor of,Angiomax (Bivalirudin) Alone Treatment Group 3Acuity One-Year Findings Meet All Primary Endpoints in Favor of,Angiomax (Bivalirudin) Alone Treatment Group 4Acuity One-Year Findings Meet All Primary Endpoints in Favor of,Angiomax (Bivalirudin) Alone Treatment Group 5Acuity One-Year Findings Meet All Primary Endpoints in Favor of,Angiomax (Bivalirudin) Alone Treatment Group 6Two Abbott Studies Reaffirm Carotid Artery Stenting as a Safe and,Effective Treatment to Reduce Risk of Stroke 2Two Abbott Studies Reaffirm Carotid Artery Stenting as a Safe and,Effective Treatment to Reduce Risk of Stroke 3Two Abbott Studies Reaffirm Carotid Artery Stenting as a Safe and,Effective Treatment to Reduce Risk of Stroke 4
... for a complete line of diagnostic coronary ... with the quality, reliability and precise performance ... in catheter technology. All of our coronary ... to help minimize the frustration and excess ...
The Polaris-DX steerable diagnostic catheter is designed for comfort and ergonomic handling during mapping procedures....
... of the PARAHISIAN catheter, combines an octapolar ... permits the use of only one catheter ... His bundle electrograms. The "two catheters in ... a single venipuncture. The disadvantages of using ...
... HIS diagnostic catheters provide the ... curve that allows for placement ... bundle. In addition, the soft ... the risk of perforation while ...
Medicine Products: