Improving end-of-life care

Symposium
Chairs: M. W. Elliott (Leeds, United Kingdom), G. Baum (Tel Aviv, Israel)
Aims: At the end of this symposium the participants should understand how to:
• assess and improve symptom palliation in patients with end-stage lung disease and in patients with neuromuscular disease;
• facilitate information-sharing and decision-making between patient, family and medical care team;
• approach withholding and withdrawing treatment in ICU and nursing facilities with insight on the ethical issues involved in these decisions. Target audience: Physicians (general practitioners and specialists), nurses, anesthetists, respiratory therapists, physiotherapists and staff with an interest in palliative care, end-of-life decision-making, COPD, other chronic lung disease and neuromuscular disease.

End-stage lung disease in the ICU B. Schonhofer (Hannover, Germany)
Dyspnoea management in end-stage lung disease B. Varkey (Wisconsin, United States of America)
Facilitating end-of-life decision-making in COPD: what do patients and families want? J. Curtis (Seattle, United States of America)
Palliation of symptoms in neuromuscular disease A. Simonds (London, United Kingdom)