What is a palliative sedation?
Palliative sedation is a medical technique used to control pain in seriously ill patients. This technique depends on the administration of sedatives to reduce the level of patient consciousness to a point where the pain caused by its health does not cause misery. This may include a complete or partial sedation. Most often, this type of treatment is used to alleviate the suffering of terminally ill patients. In some cases, this technique is associated with euthanasia practice, although it is not a standard, legal or acceptable medical practice in most countries.
Doctors use palliative measures to remove physical pain and mental suffering caused by health, although medical treatment cannot cure basic suffering. Seating is one of the possibilities for patients whose health is caused by great pain and suffering. Similar measures can be used while the patient is recovering from a particular very serious but not terminals such as heavy burns that can cause greatin the pain of a conscious individual.
Usually, in front of the palliative seating will try to other pain treatment. Medicines that block pain are often the first type of medical intervention. In other cases, medical treatment or surgery may be used to cure the condition, but to reduce the patient's discomfort. For example, palliative radiation or palliative chemotherapy, along with surgery, can be used for more comfortable cancer patients, although these procedures cannot cure basic cancer.
If other palliative measures fail, the patient or his family may opt for palliative sedation. This procedure includes a gradual increase in the dose of drugs known to cause unconsciousness. The dosage increases to the point where the patient is able to sleep without pain. Usually this sedation and other consumed are maintained modified care, while the terminal disease leads its course, which UMIt brings the patient to die without suffering.
The decision to use a palliative sedation is ideally left to the patient. In situations where the patient no longer has to be mentally competent, a relative or other individual may act on his behalf if they have been medically authorized. The attending physician usually must agree that this palliative sedation is guaranteed before administration.
palliative sedation is generally not seen as a form of euthanasia. The purpose of euthanasia is to prevent the long -term end of life directly. Palliative sedation simply prevents the patient from being conscious and desperate, while in the final stages of terminal disease.