Introducing Palliative Care

Includes Bibliographical references and Index

Part One: General Topics. Fatal statistics. Palliative care. Quality of life. Specialist palliative care services. Dying at home. Ethical considerations. Appropriate treatment. Euthanasia. Hope. Part Two: Psychosocial Aspects of Care. Communication. Breaking bad news. Strategies for coping with uncertainty. Psychosocial aspects of terminal illness. Care of the relatives. Spiritual care. Religious and cultural needs. Bereavement. Children and bereavement. Part Three: Symptom Management 1. General principles. Pain. Pain management. Use of analgesics. Nonopioid analgesics. Weak opioid analgesics. Strong opioid analgesics. Adujvant analgesics. Continuous subcutaneous infusions. Part Four: Symptom Management 2. Alimentary symptoms. Respiratory symptoms. Urinary symptoms. Other symptoms. Secondary mental disorders. Part Five: Drug profiles. Corticosteroids. Antacids. Diazepam. Midzaolam. Haloperidol. Hyoscine. Antimuscarinic effects. Part Six: Final thoughts. As death approaches. When all's said and done. Professional carers have needs too. Index.