[Which interventions are recommended in the last phase of Huntington disease?]

Abstract

Huntington Disease is a\xa0chronically progressive and neurodegenerative disease, which leads to death after 10 to 30\xa0years of suffering and worsening. When suffering Huntington Disease the patient will experience physical, cognitive and psychological issues, so that the patient won t be able to communicate or express his will in the end-of-life-phase of his disease. The problem is, after suffering a\xa0while the patient often won t be able to eat by himself, so a\xa0feeding tube must be implanted. In some cases a\xa0tracheostomy tube is needed because of the respiratory insufficiency. The cause of death in most cases is an infection like a\xa0respiratory disease. That s why it s most important when diagnosed with Huntington Disease to advance care planning to end-of-life care like life-sustaining measures that engages patients in decision-making regarding future care, while they are still able to make and express decisions by themselves.