Avances en la comunicación médico-paciente en Cuidados Paliativos (II). Comunicación no verbal. Valoración de síntomas en pacientes con deterioro cognitivo

Communication is a vital media for leading the issues that are important in the terminal patient's care. In recent years, there have been progresses in this area (decision making, information aids,. ..) resulting in better understanding of aspects that are important for a satisfactory communication. However, most part of our communication comes through our expressions and attitudes when we interview to the patients. An analysis in detail of this type of communication of the patients, it may be useful to the clinicians to assess the presence of pain in patients with cognitive impairment. The authors review in this article the advances in the non verbal communication between the doctors and the patients with advanced cancer, its implications, and the symptom assessment in patients with cognitive impairment.