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Sedation at the End of Life. Clinical Realities, Trends and Current Debate

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Sedation at the End-of-life: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Part of the book series: Philosophy and Medicine ((CSBE,volume 116))

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Abstract

The use of sedation is not new in medicine. In fact, sedation is widely used to alleviate pain and discomfort associated with both invasive procedures such as surgery, as well as severe burns (Claessens et al. 2008; Cherny and Radbruch 2009). Similarly, in Psychiatry it is used in extremely agitated patients, or in those suffering from severe panic attacks. Still, the first descriptions of the use of sedation for symptom-control in advanced stages of incurable diseases were published in 1990–1991, and it was not until 2000 that the term ‘palliative sedation’ (PS) was coined (Claessens et al. 2008). Since then, sedation has been progressively accepted as a therapeutic tool in the care for dying patients (Palliative Medicine) (Claessens et al. 2008; Cherny and Radbruch 2009; Cherny 2006; Krakauer 2009).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Bioethics and Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda 340, Santiago, Chile

    Paulina Taboada

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  1. Paulina Taboada
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Correspondence to Paulina Taboada .

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  1. Faculty of Medicine, Centre for Bioethics and Department of Internal Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Paulina Taboada

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Taboada, P. (2015). Sedation at the End of Life. Clinical Realities, Trends and Current Debate. In: Taboada, P. (eds) Sedation at the End-of-life: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Philosophy and Medicine(), vol 116. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9106-9_1

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