Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
-
J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2016
Case ReportsHigh-Dose Sedation and Analgesia During Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Focus on the Adjunctive Use of Ketamine.
Use of ketamine in patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has rarely been reported, and the optimal dosing strategy remains unclear. A patient admitted with hypoxic respiratory failure required ECMO in addition to continuous infusion of low-dose ketamine following titration of opioid and sedative medications to high doses. ⋯ No adverse effects were reported while receiving low-dose ketamine. This case illustrates that use of low-dose ketamine infusion may be a useful adjunctive agent in patients receiving ECMO and high-dose opioid and sedative medications.
-
J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2016
Case ReportsCan the Dying Phase Be Masked by the Use of Dexamethasone? A Case Report.
Recognition of the dying phase, i.e., the period during which death is expected to occur within hours or days, is important because it enables marking the imminence of death, informing the patient and his relatives, and adjusting care where needed. Careful communication about a patient's limited prognosis prepares patients and their family for impending death and saying goodbye. The authors describe two cases of patients dying a relatively unexpected death in a hospice, which is uncommon in this setting. ⋯ Dexamethasone can make patients feel better, increase their appetite, and influence the stress response. These effects could mask the signs of impending death, such as "being bedbound," "only drinking sips," and "being subcomatose." Review of the literature yielded no articles that support or reject this hypothesis. Because dexamethasone is used regularly in the palliative phase of a chronic disease, there is a need for further exploration of its effects in the dying phase.
-
It is often said that a hospice is much more than just a place providing supportive care for the terminally ill. This narrative describes Neha, a young mother who found her solace in the hospice and spent her last days there by choice. It reinforces the fact that the hospice is truly a philosophy of care where powerful and contrasting emotions do coexist.