Deaths of Two Patients with Coronavirus Disease Who Received Pain Control by a Palliative Care Team
- VernacularTitle:緩和ケアチームで疼痛コントロールを行っていた患者が新型コロナウイルス感染症に罹患し死亡した2例
- Author:
Eiichiro YAMAMOTO
1
;
Masaki HIGUCHI
1
;
Yujiro INOUE
1
;
Namiko AOYAMA
1
;
Takeshi HIROHASHI
1
Author Information
- Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; opioid
- From:Palliative Care Research 2021;16(2):191-196
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
- Abstract: Introduction: We report two cases of infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in patients treated by the palliative care team during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. These patients were receiving interventions for pain control, but subsequently contracted COVID-19, leading to their deaths. Cases: Two patients with hematopoietic tumors had been taking hydromorphone tablets for pain control. Both patients contracted COVID-19 during their clinical course, and displayed happy hypoxia, a typical complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although the rapid systemic deterioration of the patients' conditions were recognized, there were no complaints of breathing difficulties. We attempted to alleviate the symptoms by adjusting the medications, including changes to the administration route. Discussion: When a patient receiving palliative care is infected with SARS-CoV-2, the presence of an underlying condition may cause a rapid deterioration, and opioid titration may be required depending on the characteristics of the symptoms.
