Treatment for End-Stage Dementia: Palliative Rather than Curative

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An estimated 1.8 million people in the US alone are in the final stages of a dementing illness. A recent study in JAMA determined that patients with advanced dementias, who develop a superimposed acute illness such as a hip fracture or pneumonia, have a very poor prognosis. Given the limited life expectancy of these patients the study suggests that interventions should be palliative rather than curative.

Source

Morrison, R.S. and Siu, A.L. JAMA. 2000. 284:47-52.