Palliative care in surgical ICU patients

 Q: Patients who are admitted to Surgical ICU (SICU) for more than a month qualify for palliative care consults? (select one)

A) True

B) False

Answer: A

Patients who are in SICU for more than a month usually have a poor prognosis.

The American College of Surgeons Surgical Palliative Care Task Force recommends palliative care consultation 

 ●When requested by the patient, or their power of attorney (POA) 

 ●If there is a conflict between the care team and the patient/family. 

 ●When an advance directive is already available requesting limited interventions 

 ●Patients hospitalized for more than 30 days 

 ●When care-team believes that life-sustaining treatments are futile

#palliative-care

#surgical-critical-care

References:

1. Bradley CT, Brasel KJ. Developing guidelines that identify patients who would benefit from palliative care services in the surgical intensive care unit. Crit Care Med 2009; 37:946. 

2. Nelson JE, Curtis JR, Mulkerin C, et al. Choosing and using screening criteria for palliative care consultation in the ICU: a report from the Improving Palliative Care in the ICU (IPAL-ICU) Advisory Board. Crit Care Med 2013; 41:2318.