Terminal Sedation for Existential Distress

Although sedation for existential distress has been actively discussed in the palliative care literature, empirical reports are limited. A retrospective cohort study was performed to clarify the physical conditions of terminally ill cancer patients who expressed existential distress and received sedation. Of 248 consecutive hospice inpatients, 20 patients expressed a belief that their lives were meaningless and received sedation. The target symptoms for sedation were dyspnea (n = 10), agitated delirium (n = 8), and pain (n = 1). Only one patient received sedation for psychological distress alone, although physical symptoms were acceptably relieved. The Palliative Performance Scale just before sedation was 10 (n = 7), 20 (n = 11), 30(n = 1), and 40(n = 1). All but one patient could take nourishment orally of only mouthfuls or less. Edema, dyspnea at rest, and delirium were observed in 10, 13, and 14 cases, respectively. The Palliative Prognostic Index was greater than 6.0 in all but one case with a mean of 12 +/- 3.3. In conclusion, in our practice, sedation was principally performed for physical symptoms of cancer patients in very late stages. Further research is encouraged to establish standard therapy for existential distress of the terminally ill.