Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Palliative Medicine
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Borgsteede, S. D.
Right arrow Articles by Van der Wal, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Borgsteede, S. D.
Right arrow Articles by Van der Wal, G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Symptoms in patients receiving palliative care: a study on patient-physician encounters in general practice

Sander D. Borgsteede

VU University Medical Center, Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute, Amsterdam, s.borgsteede{at}vumc.nl

Luc Deliens

VU University Medical Center, Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute, Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, End-of-Life Care Research Group, Brussels

Barry Beentjes

VU University Medical Center, Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute, Amsterdam

François Schellevis

Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), Utrecht, VU University Medical Center, Department of General Practice, EMGO Institute, Amsterdam

Wim A.B. Stalman

VU University Medical Center, Department of General Practice, EMGO Institute, Amsterdam

Jacques Th.M. Van Eijk

University of Maastricht, Department of Health Care Studies/Medical Sociology, Maastricht

Gerrit Van der Wal

VU University Medical Center, Department of Public and Occupational Health, EMGO Institute, Amsterdam

Most people with an incurable disease prefer to stay and die at home, cared for by their general practitioner (GP). This paper aims at describing the prevalence of symptoms in patients receiving palliative care at home. Within the framework of a nation wide survey of general practice in the Netherlands, GPs received a questionnaire for all patients who died within the 1-year survey period to determine whether patients received palliative care (n = 2194). The response rate was 73% (n = 1608), and 38% of these patients received palliative care until death. Information regarding encounters during the last 3 months of life was derived from the records kept by the GPs. Digestive symptoms (59%) and pain (56%) were the most prevalent. The total number of symptoms per patient was higher in cancer patients (11.99) than in non-cancer patients (7.62). Not reported in previous studies were musculoskeletal symptoms (20%) and chronic ulcer (18%). Concluding, this showed that Dutch GPs encounter a diversity and wide range of symptoms in palliative care. To face these complex challenges in patients receiving palliative care at home, GPs have to be trained as well as supported by specialized palliative care consultants. Pallative Medicine 2007; 21: 417—423

Key Words: cross-sectional study • epidemiology • general practice • palliative care • patients • symptoms

Palliative Medicine, Vol. 21, No. 5, 417-423 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0269216307079821
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?