NURSING CARE FOR PATIENTS IN PALLIATIVE CARE IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Abstract

This article aims to critically analyze the role of nurses in palliative care within the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), emphasizing their relevance in humanization, symptom management, and mediation of ethical decisions. This is a systematic literature review based on the PRISMA 2020 checklist, using the SciELO, LILACS, and PubMed databases between 2019 and 2024. Twenty studies were included, focusing on nursing practices related to therapeutic communication, institutional protocols, and limitation of life-sustaining treatments. The findings show that nurses play a central role in multidisciplinary integration and ethical management of palliative care, highlighting the need for continuous education and standardized protocols. It is concluded that nursing practice is decisive in promoting dignity and comfort for terminally ill patients, being indispensable for the consolidation of humanized and ethical care in ICUs.