Palliative care in Parkinson's disease

Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2013 Aug;13(8):367. doi: 10.1007/s11910-013-0367-y.

Abstract

Palliative care for Parkinson disease (PD) is a new concept in neurodegenerative care. Abundant evidence exists supporting PD as increasing risk of death, most commonly from aspiration pneumonia despite improvements in motor and non-motor symptom management. Palliative care emphasizes an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to symptom management. In the following, the timing for considering palliative care, the communication surrounding this stage of illness, and assessing patients and caregivers will be discussed. Evaluation using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale-PD can help practitioners identify symptoms requiring intervention and track their response to interventions. Adopting palliative care principles will allow neurologists to fulfill the needs of PD patients in advanced stages to the end of life.

MeSH terms

  • Caregivers / psychology
  • Humans
  • Palliative Care*
  • Parkinson Disease / diagnosis
  • Parkinson Disease / mortality
  • Parkinson Disease / therapy*
  • Physician-Patient Relations
  • Symptom Assessment