Given the limited number of pediatric-specific palliative care programs, palliative care providers of all disciplines may be called on to care for infants, children, and adolescents with serious illness. This article provides a review of the unique components of pediatric palliative care, including key roles within an interdisciplinary team, pediatric developmental considerations, use of medical technology and complexities of symptom management in children with serious illness, hospice utilization, as well as pointers for discussions with families regarding a patient's quality of life and goals of care.
Keywords: pediatric caregiving issues; pediatric chronic illness; pediatric decision making; pediatric palliative care; pediatric prognostication; pediatric symptom management.