Palliative care is an important constituent of widely accepted quality care standard in seriously ill patients. The needs of these patients in perioperative setting or in intensive care are considerable for attending teams. Principal issues discussed include excellent communication skills during decision making before a high-risk surgery, and risk-benefit weighting in order to respect patients values and preferences. This article, based on examples of interventions in both perioperative care and in intensive care units, aims to demonstrate a complex integrated palliative approach.
Keywords: autonomy advance directives.; intensive care; palliative care; perioperative care.