Terminal haemorrhage

No universally agreed definition regarding major haemorrhage - the Palliative Care Network of Wisonsin describes this as " Terminal haemorrhage is defined as a major haemorrhage that is likely to rapidly result in a patient's death due to a massive lost of circulating volume "Dylan G Harris et al in The Journal of Pain and Symptom Management in 2009 described terminal haemorrhage as " a major haemorrhage from an artery which is likely to result in death within a period of time that may be as short as minutes because of the rapid internal or external loss of circulating blood volume "

Relatively rare Several other terms are used interchangeably as○ catastrophic bleed○ major bleed○ haemorrhagic complications in patients with advanced cancer○ terms " crisis" or 'emergency" medication is a term used to describe medication given urgently once a haemorrhage has started Sentinel or Herald bleed is used to indicate a small or prodromal bleeding 24-48 hrs before the the rupture of an artery that that resolves spontaneously or with packing or pressure Seen more commonly in patients with ○ head and neck cancer○ lung○ upper GI Overall the current literature suggests that haemorrhage or bleeding is likely to occur...