Terminal Sedation

Sedation for refractory symptoms of terminal cancer patients in Taiwan.

This study assessed sedation in terminal cancer patients in terms of three characteristics: frequency; relationship to intractable symptoms; and the extent to which medical staff, family, and patients found sedation to be ethically acceptable and efficacious. Two hundred seventy-six consecutive patients, who were admitted to the palliative care unit of National Taiwan University Hospital in Tai...

Palliative sedation for a patient with terminal illness.

A 46-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital several weeks ago with sepsis. She has squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, which was diagnosed one year ago. Her cancer has been previously treated with multiple resections and chemotherapy, and is thought to be terminal. She also has chronic graft-versus-host disease from a stem cell transplantation for treatment of multiple myeloma several y...

Internists' attitudes towards terminal sedation in end of life care.

OBJECTIVE To describe the frequency of support for terminal sedation among internists, determine whether support for terminal sedation is accompanied by support for physician assisted suicide (PAS), and explore characteristics of internists who support terminal sedation but not assisted suicide. DESIGN A statewide, anonymous postal survey. SETTING Connecticut, USA. PARTICIPANTS 677 Connec...

Terminal sedation: pulling the sheet over our eyes.

Responding to Intractable Terminal Suffering: The Role of Terminal Sedation and Voluntary Refusal of Food and Fluids.

When provided by a skilled, multidisciplinary team, palliative care is highly effective at addressing the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of dying patients and their families. However, some patients who have witnessed harsh death want reassurance that they can escape if their suffering becomes intolerable. In addition, a small percentage of terminally ill patients receiving...