Coordinating efforts in complex clinical cases: added value of Palliative Care at a University Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Palliative care is generally understood in the context of caring for terminal patients in chronic settings, but more recently, these units have also been developing in acute care settings, or in university hospitals as consultant teams. We report the case of a complex patient with rectal adenocarcinoma with four problems that were difficult to approach: uncontrolled neuropathic pain despite opioid treatment, systemic infection, depression with intense demoralisation and open surgery wound. We show the measures adopted and how an excellent inter-departmental collaboration under the co-ordination of a palliative medicine consultant team helped to resolve the unbearable situation.