Reasons for Neurology Consultation in Palliative Care Patients

Abstract

Neurological diseases are the second most common group of diseases requiring palliative care (PC) after cancer, and neurological evaluations may be required frequently in PC patients. In this study, we aimed to investigate the reasons for neurology consultation of patients followed in a PC center (PCC). The medical records of patients assessmented with neurological consultation at our hospital PCC between 2020 and 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. Our study included 223 patients with a mean age of 78 (18-98) years; 54.3% were female, with a mean GCS score of 10 (4–14). At least one neurological diagnosis was present in 65.5% of the patients. The most common neurological diseases were dementia (30.9%), stroke (27.4%), Parkinson’s disease (12.6%) and epilepsy (10.8%). Reasons for neurological consultations included re-treatment planning related to neurological diseases (34.5%; most commonly for stroke 19.3%), swallowing assessment (29.1%), healthcare documentation needs (20.6%; medications, guardianship, bed, care, and disability) and seizures (5.4%). In conclusion, neurological diseases are frequently observed in PC patients, often necessitating neurological assessments for disease re-treatment planning, nutritional support, and care requirements during the care process.

Keywords

• Palliative care
• neurological assessment
• neurological diseases
• Neurology Consultation

Palyatif Bakım Hastalarında Nöroloji Konsültasyon Nedenleri

Abstract

Nörolojik hastalıklar, kanserden sonra palyatif bakımın (PB) gerektiren en yaygın hastalık grubudur ve PB hastalarında sıkça nörolojik değerlendirme gerekebilir. Bu çalışmada, PB merkezinde (PBM) takip edilen hastaların nöroloji konsültasyon nedenlerini araştırmayı amaçladık. 2020 ile 2022 yılları arasında hastanemiz PBM’nde nöroloji konsültasyonu ile değerlendirilen hastaların tıbbi kayıtları retrospektif olarak incelendi. Çalışmamız ortalama yaşın 78 (18-98) yıl olduğu 223 hastayı içeriyordu; %54.3'ü kadındı ve ortalama GKS skoru 10 (4-14)'du. Hastaların %65.5'inde en az bir nörolojik hastalık tanısı bulunmaktaydı. En yaygın nörolojik hastalıklar sırasıyla demans (%30.9), inme (%27.4), Parkinson hastalığı (%12.6) ve epilepsiydi (%10.8). Nöroloji konsültasyon nedenleri arasında nörolojik hastalıklara yönelik yeniden tedavi planlaması (%34.5; en sık inme için [19.3%]), yutma değerlendirmesi (%29.1), sağlık belgesi ihtiyaçları (%20.6; ilaçlar, vesayet, yatak, bakım ve engellilik) ve nöbet (%5.4) yer almaktaydı. Sonuç olarak nörolojik hastalıklar, PB hastalarında sıkça görülmekte olup, bakım sürecinde sıklıkla yeniden tedavi planlaması, beslenme desteği ve bakım gereksinimleri için nörolojik değerlendirme gerektirebilmektedir.

Keywords

• Palyatif bakım
• nörolojik değerlendirme
• nörolojik hastalıklar
• Nöroloji Konsültasyonu

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