LAUSR

BACKGROUND The use of continuous sedation until death (CSD) has been highly debated for many years. It is unknown how the use of CSD evolves over time. Reports suggest that there is an international increase in the use of CSD for terminally ill patients. OBJECTIVE To gain insight in developments in the use of CSD in various countries and subpopulations. DESIGN We performed a search of the literature published between January 2000 and April 2020, in Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, Psycinfo and the Cochrane Library by using the PRISMA guidelines. The search contained the following terms: continuous sedation, terminal sedation, palliative sedation, deep sedation, end-of-life sedation, sedation practice, and sedation until death. RESULTS We found 23 articles on 16 nationwide studies and 38 articles on 37 subpopulation studies. In nationwide studies on deceased persons frequencies of CSD varied from 3% in Denmark in 2001 to 18% in the Netherlands in 2015. Nationwide studies indicate an increase in the use of CSD. Frequencies of CSD in the different subpopulations varied too widely to observe time trends. Over the years more studies reported on the use of CSD for non-physical symptoms including fear, anxiety, and psycho-existential distress. In some studies, there was an increase in requests for sedation of patients and their families. CONCLUSIONS The frequency of CSD seems to increase over time possibly partly due to an extension of indications for sedation, from mainly physical symptoms to also non-physical symptoms.