Current
opinion in supportive and palliative care, Dec 2015, vol. 9, no. 4, p. 361-368
Tripodoro,
Vilma Adriana, De Vito, Eduardo Luis
The purpose of this article is to revise
the definition of end stage in the setting of neuromuscular disease (NMD), to
understand the implications for the patient, family and healthcare team, and to
address the obstacles involved in the lack of definition. Better end-stage NMD definitions should help to
identify the goals of care, but a broad range in time and intensity of
deterioration make a valid definition difficult. This article emphasizes the relevance of
an integrated approach through the whole trajectories of NMD patients
considering key transitions.