For hospitalized patients whose death is imminent, palliative
care can alleviate distressing symptoms that are common during the last few
days or weeks of life. The essentials of such care that are presented in this
review are intended to provide both generalists and specialists in fields other than
palliative care with a practical, evidence-based approach to alleviating these symptoms
in patients who are dying in a hospital. Communication skills that are essential
to personalized care and goal setting are described briefly; the alleviation
of the psychosocial and spiritual suffering that is often faced by terminally ill
patients and their families is addressed only incidentally.
The term “comfort care” is used here to describe a set of the most basic palliative
care interventions that provide immediate relief of symptoms in a patient who
is very close to death. Typically, these measures are used to achieve comfort for
the patient rapidly; diagnostic or therapeutic maneuvers that might be appropriate
for palliation in earlier stages of the illness are usually not considered in this
context. Many elements of this approach can be used to ease patients’ distress in
other phases of a life-threatening illness and in nonhospital settings, and they can
also be applied to relieve symptoms in patients with less grave conditions.
The Need for Comfort-Care Skills in Hospital Practice
Although a growing proportion of deaths in the United States now occur at home
or in nursing homes, hospitals remain a major site for end-of-life care; in 2010,
29% of deaths occurred in the hospital, and the average terminal admission lasted
7.9 days.1
Multiple distressing symptoms affect hospitalized patients who have advanced,
life-threatening illnesses,2,3 and some of these symptoms worsen as the patient
approaches death.4
Poorly controlled symptoms have been documented in patients
with advanced cancer, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD), and many other life-threatening conditions.5,6 The meticulous
management of distressing symptoms is important in any phase of illness, but it
becomes a primary focus near the end of life.7
Palliative care services can reduce the distress caused by symptoms and improve
the quality of life of patients near the end of life.8
However, the current
scarcity of board-certified palliative care specialists — a workforce shortage that
is projected to continue far into the future — means that the responsibility for
ensuring excellent end-of-life care for dying patients will continue to fall primarily
on generalists and on specialists in areas other than palliative care.9,10 Thus,
familiarity with basic comfort measures is an essential skill for all clinicians who
are caring for patients whose death is imminent.7