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Steinberg A, Hudoba C, Hwang DY, Kramer NM, Mehta AK, Muehlschlegel S, Jones CA, Besbris J. Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Disorders of Consciousness: A Focus on Traumatic and Anoxic Brain Injury. J Palliat Med 2022; 25:1571-1578. [PMID: 35639356 DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2022.0202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Palliative care (PC) teams commonly encounter patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) following anoxic or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Primary teams may consult PC to help surrogates in making treatment choices for these patients. PC clinicians must understand the complexity of predicting neurologic outcomes, address clinical nihilism, and appropriately guide surrogates in making decisions that are concordant with patients' goals. The purpose of this article was to provide PC providers with a better understanding of caring for patients with DOC, specifically following anoxic or TBI. Many of the tips acknowledge the uncertainty of DOC and provide strategies to help tackle this dilemma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexis Steinberg
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.,Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.,Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Christine Hudoba
- Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - David Y Hwang
- Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Neha M Kramer
- Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Ambereen K Mehta
- Palliative Care Program, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.,Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Susanne Muehlschlegel
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Anesthesia/Critical Care, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Surgery, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Christopher A Jones
- Department of Medicine and Palliative Care Program, Duke University Hospital, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Jessica Besbris
- Department of Internal Medicine and Neurology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA
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