Palliative sedation

In medicine, specifically in end-of-life care, palliative sedation (also known as terminal sedation, continuous deep sedation, or sedation for intractable distress of a dying patient) is the palliative practice of relieving distress in a terminally ill person in the last hours or days of a dying person's life, usually by means of a continuous intravenous or subcutaneous infusion of a sedative drug, or by means of a specialized catheter designed to provide comfortable and discreet administration of ongoing medications via the rectal route.

As of 2013, approximately tens of millions of people a year were unable to resolve their needs of physical, psychological, or spiritual suffering at their time of death. Due to the amount of pain a dying person may face, palliative care is considered important. Proponents claim palliative sedation can provide a more peaceful and ethical solution for such people.[1]

Palliative sedation is an option of last resort for the people whose symptoms cannot be controlled by any other means. It is not considered a form of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide, as the goal of palliative sedation is to control symptoms, rather than to shorten or end the person's life.[2]

Palliative sedation is legal everywhere and has been administered since the hospice care movement began in the 1960s.[3] The practice of palliative sedation has been a topic of debate and controversy as many view it as a form of slow euthanasia or mercy killing, associated with many ethical questions.[citation needed] Discussion of this practice occurs in medical literature, but there is no consensus because of unclear definitions and guidelines, with many differences in practice across the world.[4]

  1. ^ Lipman AG (2013-10-11). "The IAHPC Manual of Palliative Care, 3Rd Edition". Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy. 27 (4): 408–409. doi:10.3109/15360288.2013.848970. ISSN 1536-0288. S2CID 70444188.
  2. ^ Ollove M (2018). "Assisted suicide is controversial, but palliative sedation is legal and offers peace". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  3. ^ Ollove M (2 July 2018). "Palliative Sedation, an End-of-Life Practice That Is Legal Everywhere". pew.org. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).