Terminal sedation: an emotional decision in end-of-life care

A patient with end-stage motor neurone disease was admitted for hospice care with worsening bulbar symptoms. Although he initially walked onto the ward he became very distressed and asked for sedation. After much discussion, this man was deeply sedated, and after some harrowing days, died. Was it ri...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Etkind, Simon Noah (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: BMJ Publ. 2012
In: Journal of medical ethics
Year: 2012, Volume: 38, Issue: 8, Pages: 508-509
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
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Summary:A patient with end-stage motor neurone disease was admitted for hospice care with worsening bulbar symptoms. Although he initially walked onto the ward he became very distressed and asked for sedation. After much discussion, this man was deeply sedated, and after some harrowing days, died. Was it right to provide terminal sedation? What should the threshold be for such treatment? How should our personal reservations affect how we approach the distressed patient in an end-of-life situation?
ISSN:1473-4257
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of medical ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2011-100213