title: [The palliative patient as an emergency patient: A model for decision making in life-threatening situations using 4 case reports].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Increasingly more patients reaching our hospitals as an emergency are chronically ill or are in advanced stages of infaust, e.g., malignant, diseases. On the other hand, the treatment options for malignant diseases are improving. In an emergency, a decision must be made between life-sustaining treatment (in the context of a potentially poor prognosis) versus palliation.
  The current literature about this topic is heterogeneous. The aim of the present article is to present a method using four case reports to decide either for life-sustaining treatment or for palliation with the help of the following: (1) the prognosis of the chronic disease and (2) the association of the acute situation with the chronic disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This method has an advisory role and cannot be taken as a guideline. Its usefulness can only be proven in practice.
authors.affiliation: HELIOS-Hanseklinikum Stralsund, Notaufnahme, Große Parower Str. 47-53, 18435, Stralsund, Deutschland, stefan.trzeczak@helios-kliniken.de.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trzeczak
mesh_terms: D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D015897:Comorbidity; D003422:Critical Care; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D005260:Female; D014890:Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008224:Lymphoma, Follicular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D009382:Neoplasms, Unknown Primary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D010166:Palliative Care; D016066:Pleural Effusion, Malignant / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D011115:Polyneuropathies / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D011379:Prognosis; D012128:Respiratory Distress Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D012811:Sigmoid Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D013617:Tachycardia, Supraventricular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome