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Discussing patients' end-of-life preferences can result in better care and less stress for families
Thursday, 09 June 2011 06:47

Discussing patients' end-of-life preferences can result in better care and less stress for familiesResearchers from the Mayo Clinic have found that careful bedside discussions about patients' end-of-life preferences can relieve the strain of decision-making on families and ease subsequent medical care, according to a paper published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Lead author Keith Swetz and his team reported that a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), a type of implanted mechanical pump, can be a life-sustaining method of treating individuals who have severe heart failure.

The researchers looked at 19 patients who were dependent on this technology as a long-term survival strategy. Of these participants, a total of 13 had discussed advanced care wishes with a palliative care team that consisted of social workers and doctors. These discussions provided better guidance when adverse events occurred, and also helped relieve the burden for families and caregivers.

"Previous studies have looked at the ethics of LVAD surgery and the role of patients and family members when it comes to turning the device off," Swetz explained. "To our knowledge, this was the first study to investigate how to help patients and families be proactive in decision-making before quality of life is compromised."
 

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