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緒言
筋萎縮性側索硬化症(以下,ALSとする)は,主に中年以降に発症し,運動ニューロンが選択的かつ進行的に変性消失していく,原因不明の疾患である。症状は筋萎縮と筋力低下が主体で,病期が進行すると上肢の機能障害,歩行障害,構音障害,嚥下障害,呼吸障害などが生ずる。病勢の進展は比較的速く,人工呼吸器を用いなければ通常は2~4年で死亡する(神経変性疾患に関する研究班,2001)といわれている。
人工呼吸器は,進行したALSの患者にとって,QOLを高めたり延命するのに有効な手段と認識されてきた。人工呼吸器には,気管切開を伴う侵襲的呼吸器と,マスクを用いて気管切開を伴わない非侵襲的呼吸器があるが,その使用には国や施設や医師の姿勢によってさまざまである(Borasio,1998)。
Objective : The aim of this study was to explore on what situation caregivers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients decide to receive mechanical ventilation (invasive ventilation), and how their mental burden were influenced by that decision-making.
Methods : Subjects were twelve caregivers of ALS patients. Semi-structured interviews were done to each subject, and the data was analyzed by using a grounded theory approach.
Results : As the mental processes of caregivers, three stages (i.e., “Decision making regarding the future”, “Continuous adaptation”, “Loss of interaction with the patient”) were found. Throughout each step, “finding a meaning of prolonged life” emerged as the core category to describe the mental process of caregivers. When caregivers could “find a meaning of prolonged life”, they could get “the power to continue caring for ALS patients”. When “the hesitation and the regret to the choice” happened to them, however it would be difficult to “find a meaning of prolonged life” for caregivers. Under these circumstances, caregivers said that they experienced “the decline of the motivation to continue caring for ALS patients”. When caregivers decided on “the choice of fate” alone and not with ALS patients, the degree of the pain for caregivers were the severer.
Conclusions : The degree of the pain for caregivers of ALS patients were differed by whom the decision was made whether to receive mechanical ventilation or not. We think that deliberate discussion among the patient, the caregiver, and the medical staff is indispensable for decision-making.
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