Talking About Palliative Sedation With the Family: Informed Consent vs. Assent and a Better Framework for Explaining Potential Risks

Several studies and international guidelines on palliative sedation have been published during the last 2  decades.1 Clinical guidelines include a recommended decision-making process that focuses on patient consent for palliative sedation.1 However, clinicians face difficulties when the patient cannot communicate because of disease progression, and empirical studies have demonstrated that about half of all the patients have lost this capacity at initiation of palliative sedation.2 Families are an important proxy, but quantitative research shows that about one-third of family members develop high levels of distress because of the burden of responsibility for this decision.
Source: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management - Category: Palliative Care Authors: Tags: Letter Source Type: research