BMJ  2004;329 (16 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7471.0-f

Comorbidities at life's end need better care

People with progressive, life limiting illnesses often take drugs to treat or prevent long term conditions, but there is little guidance on how to manage chronic conditions in these patients. Stevenson and colleagues (p 909) argue that an active review of treatment will tackle the problem of diminishing benefits and increasing side effects. Weight loss and other changes may reduce the need for many drugs or alter their metabolism; although patients should take some drugs until death, others should be stopped as systemic changes occur.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Related Article

Managing comorbidities in patients at the end of life

James Stevenson, Amy P Abernethy, Cathy Miller, and David C Currow
BMJ 2004 329: 909-912. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]