Pediatrics

Biography

Biography: Dr Francesca Rusalen

Abstract

In recent years there has been a progressive increase in premature babies, with simultaneous increase of their survival, as well as that of infants with incurable disease. Increased diagnostic-therapeutic potential, even invasive, has strongly contributed to this trend, but at the same time has increased the risk of therapeutics excitement and/or disproportion with a consequent emerging need to define eligible populations for perinatal palliative care (NPC), as well as the need to define a shared pathway for their application. The creation of a shared NPC pathway, within the Maternal-Infant Department should ensure access to NPC to all eligible fetuses/infants/parents; to ensure, as much as possible, the adequacy and quality of care provided, also identifying the most appropriate place of care; to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of the care pathway, through specific indicators. In a tertiary facility, a multidisciplinary work-group (GdL) was formed, consisting of all the professional staff involved in the process management in order to create a shared care path for NPC. Work Foreword was the literature review, including ethical and regulatory reference documents. 12 GdL meetings were carried out, leading to the creation of a shared document on the NPC pathway and its flow chart. Effectiveness and efficiency indicators were then defined for tracking the application of the care pathway itself. At the end of the work, the document was then presented to the leaders involved for discussing the application criticalities.The NPC is an emerging field within the pediatric palliative care and, as such, calls for the development of dedicated and shared pathways to ensure accessibility and quality of care.