Pediatric palliative care

Abstract

Pediatric Palliative Care (CPP) is an emerging subespecialty in constant growth since its beginning in the early 90´s. Pediatricians concerned about terminal patient care in hospitals gave first steps to achieve the formation of multidisciplinary units performing home care and treating not necessarily terminal patients. Althought this has represented a great achievement, there are important differences depending on where the patient lives. For minimazing this imbalance is important that all professionals involved in pediatric care get CPP training; in this way, a wide network of professionals with knowledge enough for proper care in the outpatient setting will be available. This review pretends to be a practical approach useful for all health professionals involved in pediatric patients management who may benefit of palliative care, mainly focusing on symptoms control.