Effect of palliative care-led meetings for families of patients with chronic critical illness

 

Among families of patients with chronic critical illness, the use of palliative care-led informational and emotional support meetings compared with usual care did not reduce anxiety or depression symptoms, according to a study appearing in the July 5 issue of JAMA.

Patients are considered to have developed chronic critical illness when they experience acute illness requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation or other life-sustaining therapies but neither recover nor die within days to weeks. It is estimated that chronic critical illness affected 380,000 patients in the United States in 2009. Family members of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) experience emotional distress including anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Palliative care specialists are trained to provide emotional support, share information, and engage patients and surrogate decision makers in discussions of patient values and goals of care.

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