Palliative care in intensive care: nursing skills and challenges

Abstract

Palliative care goes beyond the mistaken idea of ​​being restricted to the dying process or therapeutic abandonment. In the Intensive Care Unit, many critically ill patients with potentially fatal diseases require continuous support and comprehensive care (PIRES, 2020). Palliative interventions prioritize rigorous symptom control, pain relief, and ethical and compassionate communication with the patient and their family, seeking to ensure quality of life and preserve dignity until the end (SOUZA, 2021). The nurse, as an essential professional in comprehensive care, actively participates in the implementation of therapeutic and care practices, considering not only physiological aspects but also the emotional, psychological, spiritual, and social dimensions of the patient. The objective of this study was to evaluate the scientific evidence and the role of the nurse working in an intensive care unit in relation to palliative care. This is an integrative literature review. Thirty-one articles were identified in different databases. Of the 31 articles, 15 were excluded after title and abstract analysis because they did not meet the initial criteria. 10 duplicate articles were eliminated, resulting in 6 articles selected for full-text reading. During the full-text reading, 2 articles were excluded for not answering the study question. This left 4 complete studies evaluated for eligibility. After evaluation, 2 studies were included in the final analysis.