[Palliative care] Introduction

Palliative care physicians specialise in reducing mimimising the progression of diseases which cannot be cured and reducing suffering.  There is significant overlap with oncology.

 

Etymology

Latin pallium, palliī = cloak
New Latin *palliativus = cloaked, concealed

 

History taking

 

Common diseases:

• Dementia
• Malignancy
• With metastasis
• End-stage heart failure
• Left ventricular dysfunction post‐myocardial infarction
• End-stage renal failure
• Diabetic nephropathy
• End-stage liver failure
• Liver cirrhosis
• End stage pulmonary disease
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
• Parkinson's disease

Other diseases:

• Motor neuron disease
• Huntington's disease
• Muscular dystrophy
• Duchenne muscular dystrophy
• Tetraplegia