Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) significantly decreases the quality of life (QOL) due to its symptoms, yet palliative care services are often underutilized for these patients. The multidisciplinary approach provided by the palliative care team will help to improve QOL in COPD patients who also experience similar symptom burdens as cancer patients, including dyspnea, anxiety, depression, and fatigue.
Design and Participants: Literature review focusing on integrating palliative care into COPD treatment. Participants include COPD patients in advanced stages (GOLD stages III and IV), clinicians, and healthcare systems. Focus on patients with severe COPD who frequently experience exacerbations and require hospitalization or intensive therapy.
Results: The article identifies key barriers to palliative care in COPD patients, like a misunderstanding of the role of palliative care in other chronic conditions not only cancer by the family or health providers, the unpredictability of disease progression, and as we know the financial and coverage of Medicare or other insurance. Another recommendation was to integrate palliative care into pulmonary rehabilitation programs to improve outcomes for COPD patients by educating both physical and emotional distress and enhancing their QOL.
Commentary: This article emphasizes the early integration of palliative care in COPD management to improve patient outcomes and provide holistic care to address more aspects of the disease. The authors recommend improving communication between healthcare providers and patients, enhanced education and updated health policies to facilitate palliative care access. Pulmonary rehabilitation is a key factor in enhancing the quality of life, and also making palliative care more accessible and acceptable to both patients and clinicians.
Bottom Line: Palliative care is crucial for managing severe COPD, but it faces the same barriers as other chronic conditions such as heart failure, cancer, or neurologists conditions. As we know integrating palliative care earlier in the disease and combining it with pulmonary rehabilitation could significantly improve QOL for patients.
Source: Kimberly A. Hardin, Frederick Meyers, and Samuel Louie. (2008). Integrating Palliative Care in Severe Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease*. COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 5:4, 207-220. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15412550802237366
Want to know more about our Palliative Care Education programs? Click below: