Stoma-related considerations in palliative patients

Abstract

In the community there are about 200 000 people with a stoma. Some of these may have been performed as a palliative procedure to relieve a bowel obstruction, for example. Alternatively, the condition of the patient may have altered. A person with a stoma may, for many reasons, be approaching the end of life. There are a number of stoma-related issues that can occur at the end of life as a result of cancer treatment, such as skin around the stoma being damaged as a result of chemotherapy or changes in weight. In the palliative setting, patients may no longer be able to independently care for their stoma and may require assistance from the community nurse. Input from the community nurse may include information on changing stool consistency, as a result of disease progression or cancer treatment. Alternatively, nursing input might be necessary to train carers to perform stoma care. Community nurses can also provide knowledge to patients to improve understanding and decrease anxiety at the end of life.