Advanced lung disease (ALD) is a grouping of nonmalignant, life-limiting respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, and pulmonary arterial hypertension that share symptoms and a lower quality of life (QOL) in their advanced stages. As the population of the United States ages and disease-specific medicines improve, it is projected that more individuals will be diagnosed with ALD and survive longer, resulting in increased disability, morbidity, and medical expenses due to end-of-life health care consumption (EOL). Palliative care is multidisciplinary care provided to patients with life-limiting diseases throughout the course of their illness as a supplement to disease-modifying and curative medicines with the goal of enhancing QOL. Symptom control, advanced care planning, and end-of-life care are all important aspects of palliative care.
Palliative care integration in disease treatment has been found to lower symptom burden, enhance QOL, and minimize medical expenses at the end of life, emphasizing a considerable need in the ALD community. However, when comparing lung cancer patients to ALD patients, there is a noticeable gap in the usage of palliative treatments in ALD patients. Uncertain illness trajectories and inadequate communication between clinicians and their patients are some of the hurdles to providing palliative care in ALD.
All health care clinicians who care for patients with ALD, particularly pulmonologists, should feel comfortable using early palliative care interventions in this patient population. The purpose of this article is to examine the important components and difficulties involved in palliative treatment and end-of-life care in ALD.
Reference:journals.lww.com/clinpulm/Abstract/2017/09000/Palliative_Management_and_End_of_Life_Care_in.4.aspx
