According to a study led by researchers at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the use of continuous deep sedation rose from 5.6 percent in all deaths in 2001 to 7.1 percent in 2005 resulting in an increase of about 1,800 cases. During the same period, the use of euthanasia (a practice which is legal in the Netherlands, but not in the US) dropped from 2.6 percent to 1.7 percent of all deaths – a decrease of approximately 1,200 cases.

Most of the deep sedation increases occurred among cancer patients being treated by general practitioners without consultation from palliative care experts.

The researchers noted that approximately 10 percent of the patients who died under continuous deep sedation had asked for euthanasia, but their requests had been denied. As one US palliative care specialist who wrote an editorial on the study said,

“We don’t know if continuous deep sedation is being used as a substitute for euthanasia or whether it is indicative of better care for people who would otherwise die in distress.”

Dr Ira Byock
Director of Palliative Care Program,
Dartmouth Medical School

To arrive at their findings, the research team analyzed data on 6,860 deaths that occurred in the Netherlands between August and November 2005. Results of their research have been published in the March 14, 2008, online edition of the British Medical Journal.

If you’d like to learn more about end-of-life care options available to patients in the United States, you can visit the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization web site.

Source: HealthDay

Related Links: healthfinder.gov; WashingtonPost.com; BBC;
assistedsuicide.org

Technorati Tags: Judith Rietjens, MSc, PhD; Holland; medical ethics; oncology; pain management; morphine; inoperable tumors