Manejo da anorexia em cuidados paliativos: uma revisão integrativa.

Abstract

Objective: Identify the approaches for the treatment of anorexia in palliative care through an integrative review. Methods: The study was subdivided into six stages and the data collection occurred by researching four databases/virtual libraries. Articles in Portuguese, English and Spanish, published over the last ten years and with the full text available, were included. Results: 25 articles were selected, and two thematic axes were assigned in order to better illustrate the data found: pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment. Corticosteroids, progestins, anamorelin and dronabinol were the most researched drugs for the control of anorexia, with greater evidence of effectiveness for the first three. In the non-pharmacological treatment, nutritional counseling was the most recommended measure, including the fortification of foods and the use of supplements and the more-controversial artificial nutrition. Conclusion: The findings of this review may aid in the development of protocols for the treatment of anorexia in palliative care.