Neurosurgical Defeats: Critically Ill Patients and the Role of Palliative Care Service

Abstract

The onco-functional balance in neuro-oncology requires maximizing tumor removal while rigorously preserving patients’ neurological status. When postoperative worsening prevents the implementation of oncologic treatments, palliative care service offers an individualized path for symptom and psychosocial distress relief. Here, we report on a series of 25 patients operated on for malignant brain tumor who did not undergo adjuvant treatments after neurosurgery; they represented 3.9% of the whole institutional surgical series. These patients were significantly older and had a lower preoperative Karnofsky performance status than the whole cohort. Importantly, in 22 out of 25 (88%) cases, a surgical complication occurred, leading to clinical worsening in 21 patients. For the end of life, the majority of patients chose a hospice care facility (72%). While a careful selection of brain tumor patients candidate to neurosurgery is required, palliative care service provided invaluable help in coping with patients’ and caregivers’ needs.