The last wish of a patient with end stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

doi:10.1136/bmj.a2701

Published 8 December 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a2701
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a2701

Practice

A Patient’s Journey

The last wish of a patient with end stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Daisy J A Janssen, nursing home physician and palliative care consultant¹, Ton P G Alsemgeest, nursing home physician and manager¹, Guy A M Widdershoven, professor of ethics of health care², Emiel F M Wouters, professor in respiratory medicine ³^,4, Jos M G A Schols, professor in nursing home medicine ⁵, Martijn A Spruit, staff functionary⁶

¹ Central Department of Treatment and Care, Proteion Thuis, 6085NM Horn, Netherlands, ² School for Public Health and Primary Care, Care and Public Health Research Institute (CAPHRI), Faculty of Health Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Maastricht, 6229ER Maastricht, Netherlands, ³ Department of Respiratory Medicine, MUMC+, 6229HX Maastricht, Netherlands, ⁴ Centre for Integrated Rehabilitation of Organ Failure (CIRO), 6085NM Horn, Netherlands, ⁵ Department of General Practice, Faculty of Health Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Maastricht, 6229HA Maastricht, Netherlands, ⁶ Department of Research, Development and Education, Centre for Integrated Rehabilitation of Organ Failure (CIRO), 6085NM Horn, Netherlands

Correspondence to: D J A Janssen daisyjanssen@proteion.nl

At her explicit request, euthanasia allowed a 55 year old womanin the Netherlands with end stage chronic obstructive pulmonarydisease to end her life

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Our patient was 55 years’ old when she was admitted tothe nursing home with end stage chronic obstructive pulmonarydisease (COPD) in November 2007. She had had the disease since1997, and she had participated in a pulmonary rehabilitationprogramme seven times (in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005 (x2),and 2006). In 2000 she underwent lung volume reduction surgery.That same year she also had a stroke, which resulted in paralysisof her left arm and pain in the left side of her body. She wasprescribed long term oxygen therapy in 2006.

In February 2007, she was admitted to the nursing home for anintensive patient tailored interdisciplinary management programme,which improved her health status and daily functioning. Shewas sent home in April of that year. After discharge, however,she was admitted to the hospital several times because of acuteexacerbations. She was prescribed non-invasive . . . [Full text of this article]

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 StumbleUpon StumbleUpon Add to Technorati Technorati What's this?

Relevant Article

What is the best way to manage the last stages of COPD?: Andrew Thorns
BMJ 2009 338: b44. [Extract] [Full Text]

This article has been cited by other articles:

Thorns, A. (2009). What is the best way to manage the last stages of COPD?. BMJ 338: b44-b44 [Full text]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

More questions raised than answers given.: NIcholas M Child
bmj.com, 10 Dec 2008 [Full text]
Lung transplant ? a solution?: Hammad Akram M.D, M.P.H
bmj.com, 11 Dec 2008 [Full text]
Two chilling sentences: Andrew Jamieson
bmj.com, 12 Dec 2008 [Full text]
Self-inflicted death: Anthony Papagiannis
bmj.com, 14 Dec 2008 [Full text]
COPD must be priority in palliative care: David G Samuel
bmj.com, 15 Dec 2008 [Full text]
What is the best way to manage the last stages of COPD?: Andrew Thorns
bmj.com, 15 Dec 2008 [Full text]
No reasonable alternative?: Jonathan M Douse
bmj.com, 15 Dec 2008 [Full text]
Author's Reply: Daisy J. Janssen, et al.
bmj.com, 19 Dec 2008 [Full text]
Death Be Not Proud (John Donne): Hugh Mann
bmj.com, 22 Dec 2008 [Full text]