Paliativos

PO296
Palliative patients in a Day-Care Hospital Unit: a new perspective
Francisco Jesús Olmo Montes 1 , José Salvador Alegre Herrera 1 , Miguel Ángel Colmenero Camacho 1
1
Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena. Hospital de San Lázaro, Sevilla
Introduction: The evolution of chronic diseases to advanced stages and the prevalence of oncological diseases make
palliative care needed in our current health care system. The Day-Care Hospital Unit is an alternative to conventional
hospitalization, which arises from the need to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of health resources. It also
represents a cost savings to the health system, and produces a greater degree of satisfaction and comfort for the
patient, ensuring the quality of care.
Objective: We describe the attention to patients who need palliative care in a rural area depending on a Day-Care
Hospital Unit.
Methodology: 202 cases followed in the second half of 2015 are analyzed. Possible options of care were:
- Phone consulting the family.
- Phone consulting the primary care doctor.
- Face to face consultation with the patient or relatives in the Day-Care Hospital Unit.
Possible interventions were:
- Setting analgesic treatment.
- Control of symptoms.
- Furosemide continous subcutaneous infusion.
- Furosemide intravenous infusion.
- Periodic thoracocentesis.
- Periodic paracentesis.
- Periodic transfusions.
- Intravenous Iron therapy.
- Ions control in ileostomy.
Results: We attends mainly rural population (89.10 %) with a mean age of 72.67 years.
The two main groups of patients were:
- Advanced stage cancer (74.25%)
- Advanced stage heart failure (14.85%)
69 patients (34.15 %) died during the study period (six months) .
All patients were treated in the Day-Care Hospital Unit (telematically or face to face when it was possible), avoiding
admissions through emergency services . In the case of an admission needed, it was dealed directly with the Internal
Medicine Unit.
Conclusions: The Day-Care Hospital Unit for palliative patients offers a new management strategy, optimizing
health resources.
Close monitoring, communication and resource management , make possible the effective treatment of these
patients as outpatient.
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