ArticleBMJ supportive & palliative care2023
Symptom evolution in the dying.
Article in BMJ supportive & palliative care, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Family members' experiences of palliative sedation -a systematic integrative review.BMC palliative care · 2026Pooled it
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveProvide insight in the prevalence of symptoms in patients who are in the last days of life.
methodsA retrospective descriptive analysis of data on patients who died between 2012 and 2019 at the age of 18 or older in 1 of 20 Dutch healthcare facilities, including hospitals, inpatient hospices and long-term care facilities. We analysed data from 4 hourly registrations in the Care Programme for the Dying Person, to assess for how many patients symptom-related goals of care were not achieved. We looked at the first 4 hours episode after the start of the Care Programme and the last 4 hours episode prior to death.
resultsWe analysed records of 2786 patients. In the first 4 hours episode, at least one symptom-related care goal was not achieved for 28.5%-42.8% of patients, depending on the care setting. In the last 4 hours episode, these percentages were 17.5%-26.9%. Care goals concerning pain and restlessness were most often not achieved: percentages varied from 7.3% to 20.9% for pain and from 9.3% to 21.9% for restlessness.
conclusionsSymptom control at the end of life is not optimal in a substantial minority of patients. Systematic assessment and attention as well as further research on symptom management are of the essence.
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Registered trials
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