Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27211055›Full record

ReviewSingapore medical journal2016

Distancing sedation in end-of-life care from physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.

Tze Ling Gwendoline Beatrice Soh, Lalit Kumar Radha Krishna, Shin Wei Sim, Alethea Chung Peng Yee

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Singapore medical journal, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Is promoting euthanasia or assisted suicide really a good idea?South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2024
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Tze Ling Gwendoline Beatrice SohDivision of Palliative Medicine, National Cancer Centre, Singapore.
Lalit Kumar Radha KrishnaDivision of Palliative Medicine, National Cancer Centre, Singapore.
Shin Wei SimDivision of Palliative Medicine, National Cancer Centre, Singapore.
Alethea Chung Peng YeeDivision of Palliative Medicine, National Cancer Centre, Singapore.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Lipuma equates continuous sedation until death (CSD) to physician-assisted suicide/euthanasia (PAS/E) based on the premise that iatrogenic unconsciousness negates social function and, thus, personhood, leaving a patient effectively 'dead'. Others have extrapolated upon this position further, to suggest that any use of sedation and/or opioids at the end of life would be analogous to CSD and thus tantamount to PAS/E. These posits sit diametrically opposite to standard end-of-life care practices. This paper will refute Lipuma's position and the posits borne from it. We first show that prevailing end-of-life care guidelines require proportional and monitored use of sedatives and/or opioids to attenuate fears that the use of such treatment could hasten death. These guidelines also classify CSD as a last resort treatment, employed only when symptoms prove intractable, and not amenable to all standard treatment options. Furthermore, CSD is applied only when deemed appropriate by a multidisciplinary palliative medicine team. We also show that empirical data based on local views of personhood will discount concerns that iatrogenic unconsciousness is tantamount to a loss of personhood and death.

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidAttitude of Health PersonnelDeathDeep SedationEthics, MedicalEuthanasiaHumansHypnotics and SedativesPalliative CarePersonhoodPhilosophy, MedicalPractice Guidelines as TopicSuicide, AssistedTerminal CareUnconsciousnessAnalgesics, OpioidHypnotics and Sedativescontinuous sedation until deathpalliative carepersonhoodRing Theory of Personhoodterminal sedation

Identifiers

PMID27211055
PMCPMC4876410

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.