PALLIATIVE CARE IN NEUROLOGY
Raymond Voltz, James L. Bernat, Gian Domenico Borasio, Ian Maddocks, David Oliver, Russell K. Portenoy (Editors)
|
|
Oxford University Press, 2004
448 pp
ISBN 019 850 8433
RRP £79.50, $US 120, $AUD 275
|
The preface to this book states that “physicians, patients and the public continue to harbor fears and misunderstandings about terminal illnesses and palliative care. Many physicians continue
to believe that “nothing can be done” for such patients because they are inexorably dying, and they remain ignorant of accepted principles and practices of palliative care.” Well, here is a book
to change all that, for neurologists at least.
After a brief introduction to the basic principles of palliative care, the book is divided into six main sections. The first deals with the neurological disorders that lead to terminal illness,
from stroke to motor neuron disease to muscular dystrophy. Each chapter begins with an illustrative case history, provides a good overview of the disease process and treatment with particular
attention to the palliative care management. The second section (12 chapters) deals with the management of common symptoms in these patients. The third deals with other problems associated with
advanced disease and includes an excellent chapter on managing the dying patient. The next section is particularly useful and covers the ethical issues that can cause so much difficulty in clinical
practice: personal identity, food and hydration, sedation, advanced directives, refusal and withdrawal of treatment, physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia, and informed consent. The final
section deals with psychological, spiritual and cultural aspects of care.
The final chapter is very special. It comprises the reflections of Dr. Ben-Joshua Jaffe as he became increasingly incapacitated with motor neuron disease. His record is both moving and most
insightful, and his discussion of the difference between acceptance and resignation is poignant.
This book will be a valuable resource for neurologists, providing them with a wealth of information about symptom control, communication, end-of-life care and the ethical issues that accompany
terminal illness. It should be compulsory reading for all neurologists in training. Although written for neurologists as part of OUP’s Contemporary Neurology Series, I think this book would also
be a very worthwhile addition to the palliative care library. The editors are to be congratulated on a job well done.
My only concern is that the cost of this book will prevent it reaching the breadth of audience that it deserves. It is a beautifully presented hardback volume with glossy paper, but similarly
sized paperback texts from Oxford sell for one-third to one-half of the cost of this volume. This book makes a strong case for other volumes about palliative care in other medical specialties,
but I believe they should be produced in a manner that allows the widest possible readership.
Roger Woodruff
Director of Palliative Care, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia
(October 2004)
Author Information
Raymond Voltz, Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology and Interdisciplinary Palliative Care Service, Klinikum Grosshadern, Munich, Germany
James Bernat, Neurology Section, Dartmouth, Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA
Gian Domenico Borasio, Interdisciplinary Palliative Care Unit and Department of Neurology, Klinikum Grosshadern, Munich, Germany
Ian Maddocks, Emeritus Professor, Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
David Oliver, Medical Director, Wisden Hospice, Rochester, Kent, UK
Russell Portenoy, Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
Table of Contents
1. Palliative care
Oliver
Part 1: Disorders
2. Palliative care in stroke
Hamann, Rogers & Addington-Hall
3. Demyelinating disease
Macleod & Formaglio
4. Neoplasms
Peterson
5. Parkinson's disease and related disorders
Clough and Blockley
6. Dementias
Volicer
7. Infectious disease
Meadway
8. Diseases of motor nerves
Oliver & Borasio
9. Muscular dystrophy and related myopathies
Maddocks
10. Epilepsy
Weil & Noachtar
11. Pediatric neurology
Bouffet
Part 2: Neurologic Outcome and Palliative Care
12. Persistent vegetative state
Toepper & Nacimento
13. Quadriplegia and paraplegia
Ceranski
14. Locked-in state
Lahrmann & Grisold
Part 3: Common Symptoms
15. Spasticity
Noth & Fink
16. Dysphagia
Prosiegel & Borasio
17. Communication impairment
Scott
18. Epileptic seizures and mycolonus
Weil & Noachtar
19. Pain
Hord & Portenoy
20. Nausea and vomiting
Mercadante
21. Fatigue
Wagner
22. Acute confusional state
Caraceni & Bosisio
23. Respiratory symptoms
Borasio & Kaub-Witterner
24. Bowel symptoms
Sykes
25. Urological symptoms
Shah & Badlani
26. Psychiatric symptoms
Berney & Stiefel
Part 4: Other problems with advanced illness
27. Neurological emergencies
Hardy & Martin
28. Pressure ulcers
Walker
29. Stomatitis
Rousseau
30. Managing the dying patient
Sykes
Part 5: Ethical issues
31. Personal identity and palliative care
Defanti
32. Food and hydration
Hardy, Henry & Oliver
33. Sedation in the imminently dying patient
Voltz & Foley
34. Advance directives
Akabayashi, Slingsby & Voltz
35. Refusal and withdrawal of treatment
Bernat
36. Physician assisted suicide/euthanasia
Carver & Foley
37. Informed consent
Bernat
Part 6: General aspects
38. Psychological aspects
Sloan
39. Spirituality
Taylor & Herr
40. Cultural aspects of care
Oliviere & Oliver
41. Palliative care education for neurologists
Maddocks
42. So, here's what's happened in my life since last April
Jaffe
Index
