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Thread: Adult Failure to Thrive on its way out as terminal dx?

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    Super Moderator cougarnurse's Avatar
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    Adult Failure to Thrive on its way out as terminal dx?

    Anyone else hear this?

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    Maybe I'm cutting myself off from a worthwhile learning opportunity but the title, by itself, suggests pre-thought decision-making. There are too many wasting bodies committed to EOL care because of ignorance- at the hands of medical providers AS WELL AS family members. It's a mutual responsibility to manage this and I suggest that we all board the reality train..
    .

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    Super Moderator cougarnurse's Avatar
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    To me, failure to thrive sounded like a plant disease, but then if one thinks about it.... a human could potentially have the problem.

    Yet, are there underlying problems causing it? Are the problems able to be rectified? Head scratching here.

    Note to self: Look up the story/subject matter.


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    Member Extraordinaire hppygr8ful's Avatar
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    I think one of the of the biggest contributors to AFTT is Alzheimer's and other dementias, I see this all the time

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    Super Moderator cougarnurse's Avatar
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    OK, from what I read, the problem is the growing number of patients admitted to hospice with ill-defined conditions that are inherently symptom syndromes, not actual terminal diagnoses. According to one article on AFFT, this condition is most commonly seen in the frail elderly who may not have one specific terminal illness, but may have one or more chronic illness. Note the use of 'chronic' vs 'terminal'.

    I guess that AFFT can't be used as the primary diagnoses....... Thus, hppy, the AD diagnosis could/would be used.

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    What about those who have given up the will to live because of a chronic condition that is not "terminal" but a steady decline?
    Like HD, I have a pt right now who is starving herself because she is trapped in a body that is physically failing her but her mind is there. She is at the young age of 50 and struggles with debilitating challenges caused by her chorea. That is what I would consider a case of AFFT.

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    Super Moderator cougarnurse's Avatar
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    Welcome back, Lo-Co!

    From what I understand, FTT is not used as a primary dx. Secondary....could work.

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    Whatever they decide to call it. Old people give up and waste away and that is all there is to it. Can you diagnose ready to die and is there an ICD-9 code for it? Is it a reimbursable diagnosis or will physicians avoid using "dead" because their practice will not be paid for identifying it?

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