Medicina Fluminensis, Vol. 61 No. 1, 2025.
Studija slučaja
https://doi.org/10.21860/medflum2025_323585
Kennedy Terminal Ulcer – the Beginning of the End (a Case Report)
Đino Lovrinić
; Istarski domovi zdravlja, Pazin, Hrvatska
*
Petra Belušić
; Istarski domovi zdravlja, Pazin, Hrvatska
Tina Zavidić
; Sveučilište u Rijeci, Medicinski fakultet, Katedra za obiteljsku medicinu, Rijeka, Hrvatska
* Dopisni autor.
Sažetak
Aim: to present Kennedy terminal ulcer (KTU), a rare case of skin injury that occurs in patients in their terminal stage of life, and to emphasize the importance of this entity in clinical practice. Case report: A 70-year-old woman who was undergoing palliative treatment in the hospital, was diagnosed with a wound on the sacrum. Due to its special characteristics, such as appearance, location, and speed of progression, the wound was suspected not to be an ordinary pressure ulcer but a special entity, the so-called Kennedy terminal ulcer. Kennedy terminal ulcer is an inevitable skin breakdown or deterioration that occurs as part of the dying process. Kennedy terminal ulcers appear suddenly, are usually pear-shaped, located in the sacral/coccygeal region, red – yellow, or black in colour, abrasion-like in appearance, and occur shortly before death. Despite comprehensive care and daily care and treatment, the change on the skin progressed very quickly into a grade IV ulcer, and the patient died after seven days. Conclusion: In everyday practice, very little is known about Kennedy’s terminal ulcer and a many of such changes are not detected and are incorrectly recorded as decubitus wounds. Further research is needed on the phenomenon of skin damage in all palliative patients, as well as for other members involved in the care of dying patient.
Ključne riječi
palliative care; skin ulcer; terminal care
Hrčak ID:
323585
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.3.2025.
Posjeta: 252 *