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. 2009 Sep-Oct;16(5):e51-3.
doi: 10.1155/2009/987616.

End-of-life care for persons with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: report of a national interdisciplinary consensus meeting

D M Goodridge  1 , D D Marciniuk, D Brooks, A van Dam, S Hutchinson, P Bailey, S Baxter, P Dorasamy, S Dumont, S Hassan, P Hernandez, A Kerigan, G Rocker, D Wilson, J Young
Affiliations

End-of-life care for persons with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: report of a national interdisciplinary consensus meeting

D M Goodridge et al. Can Respir J. 2009 Sep-Oct.

Abstract
in English, French

While systemic shortcomings in meeting the needs of individuals with progressive chronic illnesses at the end of life have been well documented, there is growing interest in improving both care and quality of life for persons with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). For instance, the American Thoracic Society has issued an official statement on palliative care for patients with respiratory diseases, affirming that the prevention, relief, reduction and soothing of symptoms "without affecting a cure" must become an integral component of standard care. A recent Medline search located 1015 articles related to palliative or end-of life care for people with COPD published between 2001 and 2008, compared with only 336 articles published before 2001. To address the needs of Canadian patients, an interdisciplinary consensus meeting, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and supported by the Canadian Thoracic Society, the Canadian Respiratory Health Professionals and the Canadian Lung Association was convened in Toronto, Ontario, on November 22, 2008, to begin examining the quality of end-of-life care for individuals with COPD in Canada. The present report summarizes the background to and outcomes of this consensus meeting.

Si on a bien documenté les lacunes de nature systémique qui nous empêchent de répondre adéquatement aux besoins des personnes atteintes de maladie chronique progressive en fin de vie, on note un intérêt croissant pour l’amélioration des soins et de la qualité de vie des patients qui souffrent de maladie pulmonaire obstructive chronique (MPOC) avancée. Par exemple, l’American Thoracic Society a émis un énoncé de position officiel sur les soins palliatifs à l’intention des personnes atteintes de maladie respiratoire selon lequel la prévention, le soulagement, l’atténuation et l’apaisement des symptômes (« sans objectif de guérison ») doivent faire désormais partie intégrante des soins standard. Une récente interrogation de la base de données MEDLINE a permis de recenser 1 015 articles ayant trait aux soins palliatifs ou de fin de vie des personnes souffrant de MPOC publiés entre 2001 et 2008, comparativement à 336 articles seulement publiés avant 2001. Pour combler ce besoin au Canada, une réunion consensuelle pluridisciplinaire, rendue possible grâce aux Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada et appuyée par la Société canadienne de thoracologie, les Professionnels canadiens en santé respiratoire et l’Association pulmonaire, a eu lieu à Toronto, en Ontario, le 22 novembre 2008 pour amorcer une analyse de la qualité des soins palliatifs chez les personnes souffrant de MPOC au Canada. Le présent rapport résume l’historique et l’issue de cette réunion consensuelle.

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References

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