Tatsuya Morita, Masayuki Ikenaga, Isamu Adachi, Itaru Narabayashi, Yoshiyuki Kizawa, Yoshifumi Honke, Hiroyuki Kohara, Taketo Mukaiyama, Tatsuo Akechi, Yosuke Uchitomi
Symptomatic sedation is often required in terminally ill cancer patients, and could cause significant distress to their family. The aims of this study were to clarify the family experience during palliative sedation therapy, including their satisfaction and distress levels, and the determinants of family dissatisfaction and high-level distress. A multicenter questionnaire survey assessed 280 bereaved families of cancer patients who received sedation in 7 palliative care units in Japan. A total of 185 responses were analyzed(response rate, 73%)...
December 2004: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management