open access

Vol 15, No 4 (2021)
Case report
Published online: 2021-07-26
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Sedation as a palliative treatment of dyspnea in a COVID-19 patient

Damian Palus1, Rafał Suchodolski1, Aleksandra Cegła1, Alan Majeranowski2, Krzysztof Kuziemski13
DOI: 10.5603/PMPI.2021.0024
·
Palliat Med Pract 2021;15(4):303-305.
Affiliations
  1. Medical Uniwersity in Gdańsk, ul. M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 3a, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland
  2. Department of Haematology and Transplantology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie 3a, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland
  3. Department of Pulmonology and Allergology, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, ul. M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 3a, 80-210 Gdańsk, Poland

open access

Vol 15, No 4 (2021)
Case report
Published online: 2021-07-26

Abstract

We present a case of a 62-year-old female patient with advanced sigmoid colon cancer and co-occurring
respiratory failure due to COVID-19. The patient required CPAP therapy, however, due to bad tolerance
of this treatment method sedation was required. As the respiratory failure progressed the patient was
disqualified from invasive mechanical ventilation and treatment in ICU on account of her underlying condition
and inauspicious prognosis. Therefore, it was decided to continue sedation as palliative means of
dyspnea management.

Abstract

We present a case of a 62-year-old female patient with advanced sigmoid colon cancer and co-occurring
respiratory failure due to COVID-19. The patient required CPAP therapy, however, due to bad tolerance
of this treatment method sedation was required. As the respiratory failure progressed the patient was
disqualified from invasive mechanical ventilation and treatment in ICU on account of her underlying condition
and inauspicious prognosis. Therefore, it was decided to continue sedation as palliative means of
dyspnea management.

Get Citation

Keywords

COVID-19, CPAP, palliative sedation, dyspnea

About this article
Title

Sedation as a palliative treatment of dyspnea in a COVID-19 patient

Journal

Palliative Medicine in Practice

Issue

Vol 15, No 4 (2021)

Article type

Case report

Pages

303-305

Published online

2021-07-26

Page views

6012

Article views/downloads

316

DOI

10.5603/PMPI.2021.0024

Bibliographic record

Palliat Med Pract 2021;15(4):303-305.

Keywords

COVID-19
CPAP
palliative sedation
dyspnea

Authors

Damian Palus
Rafał Suchodolski
Aleksandra Cegła
Alan Majeranowski
Krzysztof Kuziemski

References (13)
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  2. Wu Z, McGoogan JM. Characteristics of and Important Lessons From the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in China: Summary of a Report of 72 314 Cases From the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. JAMA. 2020; 323(13): 1239–1242.
  3. National Institutes of Health. COVID–19 Treatment Guidelines 2. https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/.
  4. Janssen DJA, Ekström M, Currow DC, et al. COVID-19: guidance on palliative care from a European Respiratory Society international task force. Eur Respir J. 2020; 56(3).
  5. Brusasco C, Corradi F, Di Domenico A, et al. Galliera CPAP-Covid-19 study group, collaborators of the Galliera CPAP-COVID-19 study group are. Continuous positive airway pressure in COVID-19 patients with moderate-to-severe respiratory failure. Eur Respir J. 2021; 57(2).
  6. Strang P, Martinsson L, Bergström J, et al. COVID-19: Symptoms in Dying Residents of Nursing Homes and in Those Admitted to Hospitals. J Palliat Med. 2021; 24(7): 1067–1071.
  7. Kofod LM, Nielsen Jeschke K, Kristensen MT, et al. COVID-19 and acute respiratory failure treated with CPAP. Eur Clin Respir J. 2021; 8(1): 1910191.
  8. Engleman HM, Asgari-Jirhandeh N, McLeod AL, et al. Self-reported use of CPAP and benefits of CPAP therapy: a patient survey. Chest. 1996; 109(6): 1470–1476.
  9. Janson C, Nöges E, Svedberg-Randt S, et al. What characterizes patients who are unable to tolerate continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment? Respir Med. 2000; 94(2): 145–149.
  10. Rogers J, Chesney E, Oliver D, et al. Psychiatric and neuropsychiatric presentations associated with severe coronavirus infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis with comparison to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2020; 7(7): 611–627.
  11. Alberta Health Service. COVID-19 specific quick tips: palliative sedation. https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/info/ppih/if-ppih-covid-19-palliative-sedation-quick-tips.pdf.
  12. Waterloo Wellington Interdisciplinary HPC Education Committee: PST Task Force. https://wwpalliativecare.ca/Uploads/ContentDocuments/20191220_WW_PST_Final.pdf.
  13. Bhyan P, Pesce MB, Shrestha U, Goyal A. Palliative sedation in patients with terminal illness. 2021. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470545/.

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