La desistenza diagnostico-terapeutica in cure palliative

Journal title SALUTE E SOCIETÀ
Author/s Alessandro Valle
Publishing Year 2015 Issue 2015/3
Language Italian Pages 14 P. 117-130 File size 353 KB
DOI 10.3280/SES2015-003010
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Modern medicine has changed natural history of many diseases. This issue is particularly clear in certain specialties like, for instance, cardiology and oncology, with a substantial increase of median duration of life, especially in western countries. This phenomenon has produced a progressive increase of chronic diseases which, before or after, will provoke patient’s death. Towards end of life, palliative care improve quality of life, offering a support for clinical, psychological, social and spiritual problems. Palliative care «intends neither to hasten nor postpone death», so medical intervention are balanced on patients’ needs, avoiding procedures that cannot be tolerated. Nevertheless, in the end of life too, desisting from some medical procedures, like mechanical ventilation, artificial nutrition or blood transfusions, can arouse doubts and important ethical considerations.

Keywords: Palliative care, artificial nutrition, blood transfusion, desistence, ethics, end-of-life.

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Alessandro Valle, La desistenza diagnostico-terapeutica in cure palliative in "SALUTE E SOCIETÀ" 3/2015, pp 117-130, DOI: 10.3280/SES2015-003010