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ABSTRACT: Background
Palliative sedation (PS) is an intervention to treat refractory symptoms and to relieve suffering at the end of life. Its prevalence and practice patterns vary widely worldwide. The aim of our study was to evaluate the frequency, clinical indications and outcomes of PS in advanced cancer patients admitted to our tertiary comprehensive cancer center.Methods
We retrospectively studied the use of PS in advanced cancer patients who died between March 1st, 2012 and December 31st, 2014. PS was defined as the use of continuous infusion of midazolam or neuroleptics for refractory symptoms in the end of life. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of our institution (project number 2481-15).Results
During the study period, 552 cancer patients died at the institution and 374 met the inclusion criteria for this study. Main reason for exclusion was death in the Intensive Care Unit. Among all included patients, 54.2% (n?=?203) received PS. Patients who received PS as compared to those not sedated were younger (67.8 vs. 76.4 years-old, p?ConclusionsPS is a relatively common practice in the end-of-life of cancer patients at our hospital and it is not associated with shortening of hospital stay. Involvement of a dedicated palliative care team is strongly recommended if this procedure is being considered. Further research is needed to identify factors that may affect the frequency and outcomes associated with PS.
SUBMITTER: Prado BL
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5755023 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Prado Bernard Lobato BL Gomes Diogo Bugano Diniz DBD Usón Júnior Pedro Luiz Serrano PLS Taranto Patricia P França Monique Sedlmaier MS Eiger Daniel D Mariano Rodrigo Coutinho RC Hui David D Del Giglio Auro A
BMC palliative care 20180104 1
<h4>Background</h4>Palliative sedation (PS) is an intervention to treat refractory symptoms and to relieve suffering at the end of life. Its prevalence and practice patterns vary widely worldwide. The aim of our study was to evaluate the frequency, clinical indications and outcomes of PS in advanced cancer patients admitted to our tertiary comprehensive cancer center.<h4>Methods</h4>We retrospectively studied the use of PS in advanced cancer patients who died between March 1st, 2012 and December ...[more]