title: [Palliative care in a psychiatric-somatic care unit].
abstract: Patients with severe psychiatric and somatic disorders may require admission to a combined psychiatric-somatic care unit. These units provide specialised psychiatric and somatic care as well as palliative care. This is illustrated by two case reports. A 51-year-old man with a malignant brain tumour was admitted to our psychiatric-somatic care unit after threatening his wife and children. He was aggressive and confused. Seizures were suspected and palliative care was needed. Within a few weeks his condition deteriorated. He died 1 day after terminal sedation had been initiated. A 78-year-old woman was admitted to receive daily electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) for depression with catatonia. The ECT had to be interrupted repeatedly due to comorbid infections and complications. She died 3 days after palliative care was initiated.
authors.affiliation: Ziekenhuis Rijnstate, afd. Psychiatrie, Arnhem. jtuerlings@alysis.nl
authors.forename: J H A M
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Tuerlings
authors.forename: M E T M
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Verwey
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: van Waarde
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D002389:Catatonia / Q000628:therapy*; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000379:methods*; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000628:therapy*