[A consideration in the care of elderly patients receiving home hospice care: administration of parenteral nutrition at home].
Due to the recent increase in the elderly population in Japan, the number of elderly patients with gastric cancer has also increased. As a result, not only the need for care of these patients has increased but also the care system has become diverse. In our hospital, more than 30% of patients who received home hospice care were over 70 years old and home hospice care of elderly patients with terminal cancer has become an important activity of our hospital. Whether home parenteral nutrition (HPN) procedures should be administered in the home for these patients is controversial. Our hospital has decided to inform patients with malignant disease of their true diagnosis under the doctrine of informed consent. In 1997, 94.1% of patients above 70 years, of age were informed of the actual nature of their disease. As a result, they were allowed to make a choice regarding home hospice care. An 81-year-old patient with terminal gastric cancer chose home hospice care and successfully managed the treatment procedures, including the use of a pump for intravenous alimentation. Through this case, we report here an ideal model of home hospice care of elderly patients under the concept of informed consent.
Tomita
M
M
Palliative Care Unit, Jizankai Medical Foundation, Tsuboi Cancer Center Hospital.
Nagura
Y
Y
Honda
K
K
Shimizu
C
C
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017051:Hospice Care; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D008297:Male; D016331:Parenteral Nutrition, Home; D011788:Quality of Life; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*