Literature Review

[United Kingdom] New end-of-life checklist designed to remove stress in time of crisis Independent; by Aine Fox; 10/27/25 Marie Curie has published an end-of-life checklist to encourage the public to think about their end-of-life care. The list, curated by clinicians, covers everything from wills to wakes and what we might want to happen to pets and social media accounts when we die. The document features five categories, including legal and money matters, people, pets and things important to me, an advance care plan, my funeral, a wake or celebration of life, and making and leaving behind memories. Editor's Note: To download USA Advance Directives for each state, visit (1) CaringInfo (set up by NHPCO 15+ years ago), A Program of the National Alliance for Care at Home, or (2) AARP's Find Advance Directives Forms by State (uses CaringInfo's form, but more user-friendly navigation).

The emerging role of osteopathic manipulative medicine in enhancing quality of life for palliative and end-of-life patients: A narrative review Cureus; Ambrose Loc T Ngo, Linda Nguyen, Cynthia Shahbandeh, Jared Nichols; 9/26/25... This narrative review synthesizes current clinical evidence on the application of OMM in palliative and end-of-life care, focusing on its potential to manage multiple distressing symptoms, including pain, respiratory distress, fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, edema, and psychological stress. The review aims to provide an integrative understanding of [osteopathic manipulative medicine] OMM's role in symptom management, identify evidence gaps, and propose directions for future research.

Post-biographical dignity in the age of artificial intelligence: Narrative, ePROMs and ethical challenges in end-of-life care Palliative & Supportive Care; by Abel García Abejas, David Geraldes Santos, Helder Mota-Filipe, Àngels Salvador Vergés; 10/27/25 Significance of results: End-of-life care in the age of AI must move beyond autonomy-focused ethics to encompass the narrative, relational, and posthumous dimensions of dignity. A critical, philosophically informed ethics is essential to prevent depersonalisation in digitally mediated care.

Peaceful acceptance of illness among older adults with advanced cancer Journal of Pain and Symptom Management; by Sule Yilmaz, Elizabeth Gilbride, Sofiia Hryniv, William Consagra, Supriya G Mohile, Eva Culakova, Beverly Canin, Arul Malhotra, Rachael Tylock, Judith O Hopkins, Jane Jijun Liu, Jamil Khatri, Marissa LoCastro, Maya Anand, Allison Magnuson, Kah Poh Loh; 10/23/25 Context: Peaceful acceptance of illness is associated with lower psychological distress and increased engagement in advance care planning among adults with advanced cancer. Limited data exist on factors influencing illness acceptance in older adults. ... Conclusion: Patient psychological health, perceived prognosis, and caregiver education were linked to PEACE. Triadic interventions addressing these factors may enhance end-of-life care for older adults with advanced cancer.

Pumping irony: When the hospice is inhospitable Experience Life; by Craig Cox; 10/22/25 ... University of Michigan researchers, reviewing the health records of some 139,000 hospice patients diagnosed with dementia, found that nearly half of them were given benzodiazepines, a class of drugs designed to relieve agitation and anxiety. ... The results, in many cases, were deadly. ... “For patients who are not actively dying, patients and families may prioritize preserving cognition, communication, and function — goals that may be compromised by sedating medications,” she writes. “This further underscores the need for dementia-specific hospice interventions to help offer scalable, nonpharmacologic approaches, to equip hospice clinicians with effective alternatives.”

End-of-life care in the austere military environmentMilitary Medicine; by Jason David, Stevan Fairburn, Hayden Fogle, Nicholas Dulin, Russell Day; 9/25Throughout the Global War on Terror (GWOT), the U.S. military built a revolutionary capacity to deliver life-saving care-even in austere environments-through rapid evacuation, far-forward providers and resources, and advances in prehospital and trauma-critical care. However, the operational reality of future Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO), as evidenced by wars in Ukraine, Sudan, and Gaza, will be marked by high casualty rates and limited medical resources. [This review] ... explores how medical providers must shift from curative to comfort-focused care, often without formal palliative training, and how end-of-life care protocols must be integrated into doctrine, triage systems, and commander education. We offer pragmatic guidance on clinical decision-making, communication strategies with both medical and non-medical leaders, and the delivery of pain relief, emotional support, and dignity at the end of life-even in forward-deployed, under-resourced settings.

[Netherlands] Treatment satisfaction with nonoperative management of suspected hip fractures in nursing home patients with a Do-Not-Hospitalize directive: A prospective case series (NONU-HIP)Journal of Palliative Care; by Sverre A I Loggers, Romke Van Balen, Jeroen Steens, Hanna C Willems, Pamela Riezebos, Anja Wagenaar-Huisman, Michael H J Verhofstad, Esther M M Van Lieshout, Pieter Joosse; 9/25Some nursing home residents opt to forgo hospital admission in case of a suspected hip fracture due to the poor prognosis. This study assesses treatment satisfaction and quality of life in nursing home residents with a suspected hip fracture and a do-not-hospitalize directive. This study showed that nonoperative management of suspected proximal femoral fractures in nursing home patients that opted to forgo hospital admission, results in high treatment satisfaction, high quality of dying with good symptom control, and predictable short-term mortality rates. 

Teaching end-of-life care: Q&A with professor of medicine Medical Xpress; by Mahima Samraik, Yale University, edited by Sadie Harley; 10/20/25 Every year, thousands of families sit in hospital rooms hearing words no one wants to hear: "We have done everything we can." What happens next, whether doctors stay engaged or step away, can transform one of life's most difficult moments for patients and their families. Unfortunately, for too many patients, the shift from curative care to end-of-life care leaves them feeling stranded. ... "But it doesn't have to be this way," says Matthew Ellman, MD, professor of medicine (general medicine) at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and director of Medical Student Palliative and End-of-Life Care Education. Ellman has spent decades at patients' bedsides and now teaches medical students about death and dying. In his recent essay in Academic Medicine, he draws from his personal experiences as a physician and encourages fellow doctors to embrace difficult conversations around end-of-life care.

Patients with advanced cancer often receive treatments that conflict with their goals Healio; by Josh Friedman; 10/20/25 Many patients with advanced cancer who prefer treatment that prioritizes quality of life receive therapies focused on preserving it. A retrospective analysis showed nearly 40% of individuals with advanced cancer who preferred treatment that improved their comfort felt clinicians gave them therapies meant to increase longevity.

Health Data Analytics Institute (HDAI) deploys innovative use of LLMs for summarizing and supporting patient preferences at a leading cancer center Bluegrass Live; by PR Newswire, Boston, MA; 10/20/25 An innovative new protocol called Better Real-time Information on Documentation of Goals of care for Engagement in Serious Illness Communication (BRIDGE-SIC) is being launched today at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. BRIDGE-SIC uses Health Data Analytics Institute (HDAI) large language models (LLMs) to extract and summarize patients' goals of care conversations and their risk stratification tools for patient selection. The AI summaries identify and summarize prior goals of care conversations documented in patients' medical records and share them with inpatient and outpatient clinicians when patients with cancer are admitted to the hospital.

Teaching end-of-life care: A Q&A with Matthew Ellman, MD Yale School of Medicine; by Mahima Samraik, MS; 10/16/25 Every year, thousands of families sit in hospital rooms hearing words no one wants to hear: “We have done everything we can.” What happens next, whether doctors stay engaged or step away, can transform one of life's most difficult moments for patients and their families. ... We talked with Ellman about the importance of human connection in end-of-life care and how YSM is empowering the next generation of physicians to be actively present when their patients need them the most.

Study examines biological causes of cancer deaths: Tumors invading large blood vessels may be to blame, UTSW researchers say UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; by Newsroom; 10/16/25 The ultimate cause of death from cancer may not be metastatic disease, as researchers have long surmised, but an infiltration of tumors into major blood vessels that cause blood clots and multiorgan failure, a one-of-a-kind clinical study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center suggests. These findings, published in Nature Medicine, could spur interventions that extend the lives of patients with advanced cancers. 

Where comfort and nutrition meet: A case series of children with severe neurologic impairment receiving home parenteral nutrition at the end of lifeNutrition in Clinical Practice; by Dana Steien, Erin Alexander, Molissa Hager, Andrea Armellino, Megan Thorvilson; 9/25Increasingly, home parenteral nutrition (HPN) ... is used for intractable feeding intolerance (IFI), which can occur near the end of life (EOL) in children with severe neurological impairment (SNI). [Four cases were retrospectively examined and we] found that the pediatric palliative care team (PPCT) was involved in all cases during HPN decision-making and planning. The pediatric nutrition support team (PNST) and PPCT collaborated to provide individualized, goal-directed care. All [patients] were enrolled in hospice while receiving HPN. HPN at EOL requires careful ethical consideration, particularly of autonomy because families often find comfort in providing nutrition.