Symptom evaluation using observational assessment

Abstract

Symptom management is the cornerstone of hospice and palliative care and begins with a comprehensive assessment. Patient self-report remains the gold standard to determine symptom presence and intensity along with its impact on functional status and quality of life. However, patients often lose the ability to communicate over the course of a progressive illness whether transiently from the development of delirium or an ICU stay with mechanical ventilation or more permanently as a consequence of a cerebrovascular event or progressive neurodegenerative disorder (e.g. dementia).

Keywords:

• Pain
• Dyspnea
• Assessment
• Observational