Patients Who Need Palliative Care on the Neurology Ward

Summary: This retrospective analysis of 130 patients admitted via the emergency department and later receiving palliative care in a neurological ward revealed that the main reasons for acute admission were epileptic seizures, gait disorders, disturbance of consciousness, pain, nutritional problems, or paresis. The study suggests that documenting the palliative situation and treatment limitations may help prevent unnecessary hospitalization, as emergency department assessment may not fully address all multidimensional needs, especially psychosocial problems. Future investigations should focus on developing short screening tools to identify palliative care needs of neurological patients in the emergency department.