Anxiety in the terminally ill patients

Krystyna de Walden-Gałuszko

Vol 1, No 1 (2002): Polish Palliative Medicine

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Published online: 2002-05-07

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Anxiety in the terminally ill patients

Krystyna de Walden-Gałuszko

Advances in Palliative Medicine 2002;1(1):11-14.

Vol 1, No 1 (2002): Polish Palliative Medicine

Artykuły poglądowe

Published online: 2002-05-07

Abstract

It is rather difficult to diagnose anxiety in terminally ill patients Generally assessment is made by ICD-10 criteria but there are various causes of that disorder. Anxiety can be assess as psychological stress (due to inefficiency of defense mechanisms) or related to medical influences (abnormal metabolic or neurological state, by drugs directly or as a side effect of medication, by hormone - producing tumors, poorly controlled pain and so on). There are many clinical types of anxiety: generalized anxiety syndrome, panic disorder, anxious preoccupation and - rarely - phobias. Evaluation of cause can usually lead to immediate control of symptoms with the long-term outcome dependent on etiology. The most effective are drugs with counseling (psychoeducation, rationalization, catharsis) and behavioral interventions (e.g. relaxation).