Cuidados paliativos en pacientes con enfermedades terminales

Abstract

Introduction: Specialized palliative care is provided to all those who are diagnosed with an irreversible pathology and are in the final stage of life, its main function is to alleviate suffering and in turn optimize as much as possible the quality of life of patients. Objective: To determine the prevalence, complications, palliative care, quality of life, and the nursing role in terminally ill patients. Methodology: The present study has a bibliographic research structure, narrative type, it was carried out from 50 articles, previously to fulfill the inclusion criteria, the same that belong to databases in the following languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese), scientific documents of health areas, in the same way, boolean operators and descriptors of health sciences (DeSC) were handled forming search equations. Results: The results obtained show that worldwide, approximately 40 million people require palliative care, identifying the most prevalent diseases: cancer, cardiovascular diseases, liver cirrhosis, congenital anomalies, blood and immune disorders, HIV/AIDS, meningitis, renal diseases, and neurological disorders, leading to serious physical, psychological, spiritual and social complications that through palliative care provided by nursing staff, these conditions will be minimized improving the quality of life of patients struggling with a terminal illness. Conclusion: Palliative care is of great importance, since it optimizes the quality of life of people with a terminal illness, allowing them to have a dignified death.