AMsterdam ROtterdam SEdatie project; Guidelines palliative sedation

Continuous deep sedation or palliative sedation is the conscious induction of sleep in patients nearing death, who suffer from refractory symptoms. The procedure may offer the patient and his or her relatives more peace in the process of dying. Although the Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) has developed a national guideline for the use of palliative sedation in 2005, the practice has met with much discussion.

In a close collaboration with the public health department of the Erasmus University Medical Center , the departments of Anaesthesiology and Nursing Home Medicine of the VU University Medical Center (VUMC) started the AM sterdam RO tterdam SEdatie ( AMROSE ) study. The goal of the study is to evaluate the current practice of palliative sedation after the introduction of the KNMG guideline, and assess possible problems that may arise for caregivers when using the guideline.

This study consists of two parts, whereby questionnaires and structured interviews will be used for caregivers throughout the field involved in the practice of palliative sedation for qualitative and quantitative assessment of palliative sedation practice. Secondly, the usefulness of observation scales used to monitor the depth of the sedation will be assessed in a palliative setting. This research has been funded by a Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) grant.

Promovendi:Drs. Jimmy Arevalo-Romero