Dados do Resumo

Título

Integrated Approach to Palliative Care for Lung Cancer Patients

Introdução

Lung cancer is one of the most common neoplasms worldwide, compromising quality of life and causing suffering to patients through its symptoms, which include chest pain, hemoptysis, and others. In this context, palliative care emerges as a humanized and comprehensive approach, provided by a multidisciplinary team, that aims to improve the quality of life of patients and their families by preventing and relieving suffering to optimize physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being.

Objetivo

To investigate the impact of a stepped palliative care model for patients with advanced lung cancer by analyzing the relationship between early palliative consultations and improvements in symptom management, care planning, adherence to palliative care, and home care.

Métodos

This integrative literature review was conducted in August 2024 using articles indexed in the LILACS and MEDLINE databases, available through the Virtual Health Library (VHL) Regional Portal and PUBMED. The Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) “Palliative Care”, “Lung Neoplasms” and “Quality of life” were used, combined with the Boolean operator AND. The search strategy identified 268 studies, of which 17 were selected for this review. Included were prognostic studies, controlled clinical trials, and diagnostic studies related to palliative care in lung cancer patients, published in English or Portuguese between 2022 and 2024. Excluded were incomplete texts, studies on palliative care for other lung diseases such as COPD, duplicate studies, literature reviews, and previous meta-analyses.

Resultados

The integrative review revealed that the stepped model of palliative care for advanced lung cancer offers substantial benefits. Early palliative consultations improve the management of symptoms such as cough, chest pain and dyspnea, providing more efficient relief and raising patients' quality of life. Care planning becomes more effective and aligned with patient preferences, with a more personalized approach. Adherence to palliative care increases when it is started early, reflecting greater acceptance and engagement. In addition, home care is improved with better coordination between health services and family support, resulting in more efficient management of care at home. These results highlight the importance of integrating palliative care from the outset of treatment to optimize symptom management and the overall well-being of patients with advanced lung cancer.

Conclusões

Based on the information obtained from the articles analyzed, it is clear that there is a need to expand the dissemination of information on palliative care through qualified health professionals, so that both patients diagnosed with lung cancer and their families and/or support networks have access to humane treatment. Therefore, improving communication and the reach of this information can make a big difference to the quality of care and support offered.

Palavras Chave

Palliative Care; lung cancer; quality of life