Case Study: Trisomy 13, A Palliative Care Case

PALIATIVE CARE IS AN IMPORTANT piece of the health care puzzle, one that is being utilized more frequently to provide excellent patient care throughout the life span. Although the need for palliative care services among the NICU patient population is often overlooked, this fragile patient population would at times greatly benefit from these services. It is vital that health care providers be aware of, knowledgeable about, and active in recognizing the need for palliative care referrals. This case study, from a nurse's perspective, focuses on a patient diagnosed with trisomy 13 shortly after birth. It discusses the patient's demographics and history, his disease/ diagnosis, and the nursing process surrounding the case, as well as the nurse-patient-family relationship and an evaluation of what was accomplished.