Continuous Deep Sedation Until Death—a Swiss Death Certificate Study

Continuous deep sedation until death: palliation or physician-assisted death?

Published literature has not discerned end-of-life palliative versus life-shortening effects of pharmacologically maintaining continuous deep sedation until death (i.e., dying in deep sleep) compared with common sedation practices relieving distress in the final conscious phase of dying. Continuous deep sedation predictably suppresses brainstem vital centers and shortens life. Continuous deep s...

Continuous deep sedation until death in Belgium: a nationwide survey.

uria, despite an absence of relevant clinical manifestations. Although many health care providers realize that excessive antimicrobial use can be harmful and should be avoided, some clearly need to be reminded about the complete absence of evidence supporting antimicrobial therapy for abnormal urinalysis findings in patients who lack genitourinary symptoms and of the importance of adjusting tre...

Trends in Continuous Deep Sedation until Death between 2007 and 2013: A Repeated Nationwide Survey

BACKGROUND Continuous deep sedation until death is a highly debated medical practice, particularly regarding its potential to hasten death and its proper use in end-of-life care. A thorough analysis of important trends in this practice is needed to identify potentially problematic developments. This study aims to examine trends in the prevalence and practice characteristics of continuous deep s...

Continuous deep sedation in patients nearing death.

The practice of continuous deep sedation until death in Flanders (Belgium), the Netherlands, and the U.K.: a comparative study.

CONTEXT Existing empirical evidence shows that continuous deep sedation until death is given in about 15% of all deaths in Flanders, Belgium (BE), 8% in The Netherlands (NL), and 17% in the U.K. OBJECTIVES This study compares characteristics of continuous deep sedation to explain these varying frequencies. METHODS In Flanders, BE (2007) and NL (2005), death certificate studies were conducte...