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Palliative Sedation in Advanced Cancer Patients: Does it Shorten Survival Time? - A Systematic Review
1Department of Pain and Palliative Care, St. John's Medical College Hospital, Bangalore, India.
Indian Journal of Palliative Care
|June 15, 2013
Summary
Palliative sedation for refractory symptoms in advanced cancer patients does not shorten survival time. This systematic review found no statistically significant difference in mean survival time between sedated and non-sedated groups.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Palliative Care
- Clinical Research
Background:
- Advanced cancer patients frequently experience refractory symptoms in end-of-life care.
- Palliative sedation is a method to alleviate severe, intractable suffering in terminally ill patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the impact of palliative sedation on survival duration in terminally ill cancer patients.
- To synthesize evidence from studies comparing survival times in sedated versus non-sedated patient groups.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of prospective and retrospective studies identified via six electronic databases.
- Inclusion criteria required a comparison group not receiving palliative sedation.
- Quality assessment and data extraction were performed on eleven selected studies.
Main Results:
- Eleven studies (4 prospective, 7 retrospective) were included in the analysis.
- Mean survival time (MST) was consistently similar between palliative sedation and non-sedation groups across all studies.
- No statistically significant difference in MST was observed between the groups.
Conclusions:
- Palliative sedation does not appear to shorten survival in terminally ill cancer patients.
- Findings suggest that palliative sedation can be safely employed for symptom management without compromising survival.
- Conclusions should consider the methodological variations and populations within the reviewed studies.
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