Signs and Symptoms in the last days of life of the glioblastoma patients – A Descriptive and Retrospective Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31877/on.2023.46.03Keywords:
Fim de vida; Glioblastoma; Cuidados PaliativosAbstract
Background: Having a glioblastoma is still a synonym of a very poor prognosis. In this population, end-of-life signs and symptoms differ from the rest of the cancer population
Objective: To identify the main signs and symptoms that occur in patients with glioblastoma in their last seven days of life in a neuro-oncology ward.
Methods: Descriptive and retrospective study. Sample composed of people with glioblastoma in the last seven days of life, hospitalized in the neurology ward, with medical and nursing records. Admittion in the institution through neurooncology consultation between 2019/2020. Data collection was performed through patient’s clinical records analysis.
Results: The sample has 17 people. The most prevalent signs and symptoms were: “decreased level of consciousness” (94%); “rare and unexpected events”
(94%); “respiratory dysfunction” (88%) and “loss of ability to swallow” (76%).
Conclusions: The study allowed responding to the research objective. The results underline the importance of carrying out studies with more representative samples, given that most studies are found to be focused on the cancer population in general.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Liliana Vasconcelos, Mafalda Monteiro Ferreira, José Maria Bandeira Costa
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