TY - JOUR
T1 - Comfort care for infants in the neonatal intensive care unit at end of life
AU - Walden, Marlene
AU - Sudia-Robinson, Tanya
AU - Carrier, Carol Turnage
PY - 2001/6
Y1 - 2001/6
N2 - When the death of a baby becomes inevitable, the greatest priority of care is to provide pain relief and comfort for the dying infant. Physical, environmental, and social needs are derived from assessment and knowledge of the infant's stage of development and the context of the individual infant's experiences within the neonatal intensive care unit. Assessment parameters for pain often rely on physiologic measures at end of life (EOL), whereas comfort is assessed through physiologic/autonomic, motor, and state behavioral cues exhibited by the infant. EOL care is best provided by using an integrated interdisciplinary, palliative approach in partnership with the infant's parents. Although opioids remain central to EOL care, nonpharmacologic measures for pain relief and comfort enhancement may provide additive or synergistic benefits. A case example applies the concepts of comfort care to an extremely preterm infant at EOL.
AB - When the death of a baby becomes inevitable, the greatest priority of care is to provide pain relief and comfort for the dying infant. Physical, environmental, and social needs are derived from assessment and knowledge of the infant's stage of development and the context of the individual infant's experiences within the neonatal intensive care unit. Assessment parameters for pain often rely on physiologic measures at end of life (EOL), whereas comfort is assessed through physiologic/autonomic, motor, and state behavioral cues exhibited by the infant. EOL care is best provided by using an integrated interdisciplinary, palliative approach in partnership with the infant's parents. Although opioids remain central to EOL care, nonpharmacologic measures for pain relief and comfort enhancement may provide additive or synergistic benefits. A case example applies the concepts of comfort care to an extremely preterm infant at EOL.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=31744445573&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=31744445573&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1053/nbin.2001.25436
DO - 10.1053/nbin.2001.25436
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:31744445573
SN - 1527-3369
VL - 1
SP - 97
EP - 105
JO - Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews
JF - Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews
IS - 2
ER -