How do doctors determine the amount of time a terminally ill patient has left?

Question

How do doctors determine the amount of time a terminally ill patient has left?

In: 330

Answer 1

MD here. Based on experience… once you’ve seen hundred patients who have certain vitals and a certain assessment you can guess estimate. Like anything, once you’ve seen hundred if not thousands of the same process, you get good at recognizing patterns.
That being said, it’s only a guess. Whenever families ask me, I give a estimate but always qualify by saying I’ve been humbled because people I thought had hours lived >1 day and vice versa.