EMCrit Podcast 25 – End of Life and Palliative Care in the ED - a podcast by Scott D. Weingart, MD FCCM
from 2010-04-24T23:18:21
Aggressive palliative care is just as important as aggressive critical care in the ED. Sometimes we will be the first physicians to talk to a family about end of life issues, even if their loved one is terminally ill. Now that is not how it should be, but it just means that we must be just as skilled at family palliative care discussions as we are at floating a transvenous pacer. In this podcast, I discuss my vision of how to handle palliative care issues in the ED.
Step I-Identify potential comfort care patients
Step II-Establish goals of care
Either aggressive curative or aggressive comfort. Sometimes, you will decide with the family to a "trial" of critical care
Step III-Sign the Paperwork
Step IV-Maximize comfort
start a fentanyl drip
consider glycopyrrolate or a scopolamine patch
Remember the concept of double effect
photo by P Nicholson
Updates:
Review-Palliative Care in the ED
Further episodes of EMCrit Podcast
Further podcasts by Scott D. Weingart, MD FCCM
Website of Scott D. Weingart, MD FCCM