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Review
. 2024 Mar;119(2):97-104.
doi: 10.1007/s00063-023-01061-4. Epub 2023 Sep 13.

[Care for dying patients in the emergency department]

[Article in German]
Nora Dehina  1 , Martin Neukirchen  2   3 , Eva Diehl-Wiesenecker  4   5 , Dorothea Sauer  6   5 , Charlotte F von der Heyde  7 , Michael Bernhard  8 , Lennert Böhm  1   5
Affiliations
Review

[Care for dying patients in the emergency department]

[Article in German]
Nora Dehina et al. Med Klin Intensivmed Notfmed. 2024 Mar.

Abstract
in English, German

Patients at the end of life frequently receive care in emergency departments. Emergency physicians are faced with caring for both patients who pass away suddenly following an acute illness or injury despite rescue efforts, as well as those who are dying from a chronic condition or high age. To provide proper care and respect the patients' wishes regarding invasive treatments, emergency physicians should be knowledgeable about advance directives and have effective communication skills when delivering bad news to patients and their family. In addition, a basic understanding of palliative care is necessary for physicians to effectively manage symptoms.

In Notaufnahmen werden regelmäßig PatientInnen am Lebensende versorgt. Neben PatientInnen, die im Rahmen der notfallmedizinischen Akutversorgung einer plötzlichen Erkrankung oder eines Traumas trotz Rettungsversuche des Behandlungsteams versterben, betrifft dies auch PatientInnen in der Finalphase chronischer Erkrankungen oder im hohen Alter. Um diesen PatientInnen gerecht zu werden, sollten NotfallmedizinerInnen die Grundlagen der Therapiezielfindung und die Eruierung des Patientenwillens kennen und ein palliativmedizinisches Basiswissen besitzen, um auftretende Symptomkrisen adäquat zu beherrschen. Ebenfalls sollten sie Grundkenntnisse in der Kommunikation bei der Überbringung schlechter Nachrichten besitzen.

Keywords: Advance directives; Emergency medicine; End-of-life care; Palliative care; Symptom control.

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References

Literatur

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