Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Terminal sedation for existential distress.

T Morita1, J Tsunoda, S Inoue

  • 1Seirei Mikatabara Hospital, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan.

The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care
|March 12, 2002
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Family satisfaction with inpatient palliative care in Japan.

Palliative medicine·2002
Same author

A scale to measure satisfaction of bereaved family receiving inpatient palliative care.

Palliative medicine·2002
Same author

Concerns of Japanese hospice inpatients about morphine therapy as a factor in pain management: a pilot study.

Journal of palliative care·2002
Same author

Underlying pathologies and their associations with clinical features in terminal delirium of cancer patients.

Journal of pain and symptom management·2001
Same author

Influence of renal function on serum and urinary heart fatty acid-binding protein levels.

The Journal of cardiovascular surgery·2001
Same author

Improved accuracy of physicians' survival prediction for terminally ill cancer patients using the Palliative Prognostic Index.

Palliative medicine·2001

Sedation for existential distress in terminally ill cancer patients is rarely used alone. Empirical reports show palliative sedation primarily addresses physical symptoms like dyspnea and delirium in late-stage cancer.

Area of Science:

  • Palliative Care
  • Oncology
  • Medical Ethics

Background:

  • Existential distress is a significant concern for terminally ill cancer patients.
  • Empirical data on sedation for existential distress in palliative care is limited.
  • This study investigates the physical conditions of cancer patients receiving sedation for existential distress.

Observation:

  • 20 out of 248 hospice inpatients received sedation for existential distress.
  • Primary indications for sedation were dyspnea (10 patients), agitated delirium (8 patients), and pain (1 patient).
  • Only one patient received sedation solely for psychological distress; physical symptoms were often present and significant.

Findings:

  • Patients receiving sedation had severely diminished physical function (Palliative Performance Scale 10-20).

Related Experiment Videos

  • Most patients had difficulty with oral intake and presented with edema, dyspnea at rest, and delirium.
  • High Palliative Prognostic Index scores (mean 12) indicated a very late stage of illness.

    • Implications:

    • In this practice, palliative sedation was predominantly used for managing severe physical symptoms in end-stage cancer patients.
    • Further research is needed to develop standardized therapies for existential distress in the terminally ill.
    • This study highlights the complex interplay of physical and psychological symptoms at the end of life.