Palliative Care in Times of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 Infection

The new 2019 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is generating challenges in health systems worldwide and posing ethical dilemmas that derive both in the therapeutic adequacy of each individual and in decision-making in the context of limited resources where the capacity of providing medical care is insufficient, as well as in those patients with multiple comorbidities or advanced disease without advance directives regarding resuscitation measures and invasive interventions such as orotracheal intubation, levels of care (ICU, general ward, home) and their care preferences at the end of life. Likewise, it has evidenced the universal need for access to palliative care, symptom relief, and the importance of training health personnel in palliative care at health centers and levels of care.